Supreme Court Asks Centre To Inform Steps Taken To Stop Manual Scavenging, Abolish Dry Latrines

The Supreme Court has directed the Union of India to place on record the steps taken by it to prevent the employment of manual scavengers as per the Prohibition of Employment as Manual Scavengers and Their Rehabilitation Act 2013.

The Court has asked the Centre to inform the steps taken in pursuance of the guidelines issued in the 2014 judgment “Safai Karamchari Andolan And Others vs. Union of India And Others” reported in (2014) 11 SCC 224.

Further, the Court has also directed the Centre to place on record :

(I) Steps taken towards abolition/demolition of Dry Latrines, statewise.

(II) Status of Dry Latrines and Safai Karamcharies in Cantonment Boards and Railways.

(III) Employment of Safai Karamcharies in Railways and Cantonments Boards whether directly or indirectly i.e. through Contractors or otherwise.

(IV) Statewise set up of Municipal Corporation and the nature of equipment (as well as the description of technical equipment), deployed by such bodies to mechanize sewage cleaning.

(V) The feasibility of developing internet based solutions for real time tracking of sewage deaths and action taken by their concerned authorities including the appropriate Government towards payment of compensation and rehabilitation of families.

A bench comprising Justices S Ravindra Bhat and Dipankar Datta issued these directions while hearing a PIL filed by Dr.Balram Singh.

 In Safai Karamchari Andolan judgment, the Court had issued a slew of guidelines for the rehabilitation of manual scavengers, including casha assistance, scholarship for their children, allotment of residential plots, training in livelihood skill and monthly stipends, concessional loans etc. The judgment had also issued prescribed the minimum compensation in cases of sewer deaths and directed the Railways to end manual scavenging on tracks.

The Union Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment has to file an affidavit containing information on these issues within six weeks. The matter will be taken up next on April 12, 2023.

The Court has also added National Commission for Safai Karamcharis, the National Commission for Scheduled Castes, and the National Commission for Scheduled Tribes  as respondents.

Case : Dr.Balram Singh vs Union of India

Click here to read the order