The Prime Minister’s latest photo op of washing the feet of a sanitation worker in Allahabad has sparked outrage across the country, with rights activists slamming the government for ignoring the plight of sanitation workers yet using them for a carefully-executed, multiple camera photoshoot ahead of Lok Sabha elections.
Underestimation of number of manual scavengers, no data on sanitation workers
It is important to understand that while manual scavenging is prohibited by law, cleaning septic tanks and sewers is permitted in accordance with the rules laid down in the 2013 Act.
As per a recent government survey (being conducted in 170 districts), 30,000 manual scavengers have been identified in the country, a number that is considered an underestimation considering the prevalence of dry latrines in India and the data from the 2011 Census. Socio Economic Caste Census of 2011 identified 1,82,505 manual scavengers in rural areas alone. Also, Census 2011 reported that in over 740,078 households —excluding septic tanks, public sewers and railway tracks — excreta was cleared out by manual scavengers.
While the government calculates the number of manual scavengers in the country, it does not officially record the number of sanitation workers engaged in cleaning septic tanks and sewers. Moreover, per the government’s own admission, it is not even planning to collect data for sanitation workers working in high-risk conditions.
Slashing funding for Rehabilitation of Manual Scavengers
The Self Employment Scheme for Rehabilitation of Manual Scavengers (SRMS), formulated in 2007 by the Dr. Manmohan Singh-led government, was allocated Rs 70 crore in the 2013-14 Union Budget, followed by Rs 47 crore in 2014-15. The scheme is aimed at helping identified manual scavengers shift to alternate professions.
Under this, three types of assistance is provided to those identified as engaged in manual scavenging.
- Onetime cash assistance of Rs 40000.
- Loans upto Rs. 15 lakh at concessional rate of interest.
- Credit linked back end capital subsidy upto Rs 3,25,000.
- Skill Development Training upto two years with stipend of Rs.3000 per month.
However, after coming into power, the Modi government seriously slashed the funding of the programme. In 2015-16, a mere Rs 5 crore was allocated for the scheme which fell further to Rs 1 crore in 2016-17. In 2017-18, Rs 5 crore was allocated and in 2018-19, the government increased this to Rs 20 crore, per a brief by Accountability Initiative. As per revised estimates for 2018-19, the figure earmarked towards the scheme was increased to Rs 70 crore.
In the interim budget for 2019-20, announced by Union Minister Piyush Goyal, this allocation dropped to Rs 30 crore.
Considering even the underestimated number of manual scavengers in the country (30,000), it is clear that the funds allocated are woefully inadequate.
“The money that has been allocated for the rehabilitation of manual scavengers is not enough to rehabilitate even 300 manual scavengers with alternative jobs,” Bezwada Wilson, the national convener of the Safai Karamchari Andolan (SKA) and a Magsaysay award winner told The Telegraph.
No Money Spent on Rehabilitation till 2017
What is worse, is that the government failed to spend even the meagre money it allocated towards rehabilitation of manual scavengers under the scheme.
Last year, The Wire had reported that in response to an RTI, the government had admitted that since coming to power in 2014, it had not spent even a single rupee till September 22, 2017.
Since then, while the government has reported that a certain number of manual scavengers and sanitation workers have been assisted under the SRMS, the details of the spending have not been clearly provided.
Mounting Death Toll
PM Modi’s statement of calling manual scavenging a “spiritual experience” appears more tone-deaf when one considers the number of people who are killed by the activity. According to data collected by National Commission for Safai Karamcharis (NCSK), a statutory body, by September 2018, at least 123 people employed in hazardous forms of manual scavenging had died while at work since July 2017. Additionally, the data accounts for only 109 districts, out of the 170 districts being surveyed. The Indian Express had reported that even officials had admitted to this being an underestimation as the figures were collated using media reports.
In the parliament, in November 2018, the government said that there have been no reports of deaths due to manual scavenging, and only deaths while cleaning sewers and septic tanks had been reported.
In Delhi alone, as per the data provided by three municipal corporations, 2,403 sanitation workers had died before reaching the age of retirement, in five years prior to August 2018, IE had reported.
Safai Karmachari Andolan has reported over 1,300 deaths in the last ten years, with at least a hundred deaths taking place in 2018 alone.
As Bezwada Wilson aptly put it, what sanitation workers in India need is “Justice, not rituals.”
Also Read: Clean Your Mind, Not Our Feet: Bezwada Wilson Slams PM Modi