Updated: November 20, 2020 7:04:24 am
Official records show that manual collection has led to 376 deaths in the past five years, including 110 in 2019 alone, a 61 percent increase from 2018.
AMEND THE Manual Collection Act to make mechanized cleaning of sewers and septic tanks mandatory, replace the word “manhole” with “machine well” in official use, establish a 24 × 7 national helpline to report violations.
These are some of the key measures the government is implementing with the goal of eliminating manual collection across the country by August 2021, according to senior officials.
On Thursday, as part of this initiative, the Government launched a “challenge” for all states to do mechanized sewer cleaning by April 2021: if any human needs to enter a sewer line in case of unavoidable emergency, team Suitable oxygen tanks etc. must be provided.
The challenge will offer cash prizes in various categories totaling Rs 52 crore. “The actual on-site assessment of the participating cities will be carried out in May 2021 by an independent agency and the results will be declared on August 15, 2021,” said Durga Shanker Mishra, Secretary of the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs.
Official records show that manual harvesting has led to 376 deaths in the past five years, including 110 in 2019 alone, a 61 percent increase from 2018.
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“We have instructed that the word manhole should no longer be used and only machine shaft will be used from now on,” Mishra said.
The Ministry is also partnering with MTNL to implement a 24×7 national helpline number where these cases can be reported.
On the challenge, officials said that urban local bodies, state capitals and smart cities are eligible to participate. They said that the 243 cities that are eligible to participate will be divided into three sub-categories based on population: up to 3 lakh, 3-10 lakh and more than 10 lakh, with prizes ranging from Rs 8-12 crore.
With the Swachh Bharat Mission identified as a top priority area by the 15th Finance Commission, and funds available for smart cities and urban development, Union Minister of Housing and Urban Affairs Hardeep Puri said the money needed to moving to mechanized cleaning would not be a limitation.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment has decided to provide funds directly to workers to buy cleaning machines, rather than giving money to contractors or municipalities, said R Subrahmanyam, secretary of the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment.
Employing or hiring people to manually clean drains, sewer tanks, and septic tanks is a crime punishable by imprisonment and a fine under the Manual Collection Act 2013. According to the provisions of the law, manual collectors must be identified and rehabilitated.
However, the problem persists in urban areas, Subrahmanyam said. “The amendment to the law will make mechanized cleaning mandatory. It shouldn’t be optional … some municipalities like Hyderabad etc have done a wonderful job in mechanizing the system. But it shouldn’t be a best practice, it has to be the only practice, ”he said.
According to an assessment by the Ministry of Social Justice, despite the fact that the Manual Collection Law and the Atrocity Prevention Law of 1989 are in force, FIRs are rarely presented in deaths caused by this practice, convictions are rare and the Supreme Court ordered a compensation of Rs. 10 lakh is not paid in all cases.
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