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LUCKNOW As 30 people died due to hazardous cleaning of sewers and septic tanks during the last three years in Uttar Pradesh, the panchayati raj department has set up a separate fund to award compensation to the dependents of such people in rural areas that are expected to have more sewers and septic tanks in the time to come.
The urban development department already runs such a fund under the ‘Manual Scavengers’ Death Compensation Scheme’ for cities.
After a Supreme Court order in 2014, the UP government had entrusted the urban development and the panchayati raj departments with the responsibility of compensating for the death of any person who died due to practice of manual scavenging or because of hazardous cleaning of sewers and septic tanks.
“Though the urban development department already had the fund to provide compensation to the dependents of any person who died due to hazardous cleaning of sewers, septic tanks etc, we in the panchayat department too have set up such a fund for the same purpose in rural areas,” said Manoj Kumar Singh, agriculture production commissioner (APC) and additional chief secretary, panchayati raj.
The GO issued by the state government two days ago provides for an immediate financial assistance of ₹ 10 lakh in each such case in keeping with the Supreme Court’s directions. “A budget of ₹ 1.50 crore has been earmarked for the scheme for the current financial year and detailed guidelines have been issued to run the fund, identify victims and distribute the compensation,” said Singh.
In its order on April 27, 2014, the apex court had ruled, “Identify the families of all persons who died in sewage work (manholes, septic tanks) since 1993 onwards and award compensation of ₹ 10 lakh for each such death to the family members depending on them.” The order was applicable to all the states.
As per Section 2 (1) (g) of the Prohibition of Employment as Manual Scavengers and their Rehabilitation Act, 2013, manual scavenger means a person engaged or employed by an individual or a local authority or a public or private agency, for manually cleaning, carrying, disposing of, or otherwise handling in any manner, human excreta in an insanitary latrine or in an open drain or pit into which the human excreta from insanitary latrines is disposed of, or on a railway track etc.
According to information gathered from the social welfare department, 105 people died due to accidents while undertaking hazardous cleaning of sewers and septic tanks in UP since 1993 though no death has been reported due to engaging in manual scavenging (lifting of human excreta from insanitary latrine).
“Compensation of ₹ 10 lakh or less has been awarded to the dependents of all the 99 of the 105 people who died since 1993 while we are yet to locate the dependents of the remaining six victims,” said a senior official of UP Scheduled Caste Finance Development Corporation. He said compensation of less than ₹ 10 lakh was awarded in around 30 cases where victims’ families entered into an agreement with the contractor, department concerned.
It is revealed that in 2019 alone, 26 people died while cleaning sewers or septic tanks in UP. While no such deaths were reported in 2020 and 21, the years marked by the Covid-19 pandemic and lockdowns, four people had already died for the same reasons in the state till mid-2022.
“Of the total around 58,000 manual scavengers, over 32,400 were identified in UP alone during two surveys in 2013 and 2018,” the official said, claiming: “Now, all of them in UP have been rehabilitated after the Central government provided a one-time financial assistance of ₹ 40,000 in six equal monthly instalments through the DBT expecting that in the meantime they will switch to some alternative job.”
Brajendra K Parashar is a Special Correspondent presently looking after agriculture, energy, transport, panchayati raj, commercial tax, Rashtriya Lok Dal, state election commission, IAS/PCS Associations, Vidhan Parishad among other beats. ...view detail
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