Why in News?
 According to a report given by Ministry of Social Justice , Only 66% districts in country free of manual scavenging.

Context:  
Despite stating over the last few years that manual scavenging had been eliminated in the country, and that the only remaining threat was hazardous cleaning of sewers and septic tanks, the Union Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment has now said that only 508 districts out of the total 766 districts in the country have declared themselves manual-scavenging free.

What is Manual Scavenging?  
Manual scavenging includes the disposal of human excreta manually from dry latrines, and public streets and the maintenance and sweeping of septic tanks, sewers and gutters.

Current Scenario in India:   
·         As many as 58,000 people worked as manual scavengers as of 2018. 941 people have died since 1993 due to accidents while undertaking hazardous cleaning of sewer and septic tanks.
·         The practice, which is considered the worst remaining evidence of untouchability, is most prevalent among people from lower castes/Dalits.

Constitutional Safeguards:  
Manual Scavenging violates a number of constitutional provisions as well.

Article 14: Equality before the law  
·         The State shall not deny to any person equality before the law or the equal protection of the laws within the territory of India Prohibition of discrimination on grounds of religion, race, caste, sex, or place of birth.
·         Here, individuals are forced into such professions as they are unable to get any other job because of the stigma attached to this job and become unable to sustain their families.

Article 17: Abolition of Untouchability  
·         Untouchability is abolished and its practice in any form is forbidden. The enforcement of any disability arising out of Untouchability shall be an offense punishable in accordance with the law.
·         According to Section 7A of the aforementioned Act, anyone who forces someone to engage in scavenging on the grounds of untouchability is considered to have enforced a disability resulting from untouchability, which is punished by imprisonment.

Article 21: Protection of life and personal liberty:  
·         No person shall be deprived of his life or personal liberty except according to a procedure established by law.
·         Plenty of people lose lives during such unsanitary practices of scavenging and die because of suffocation, harmful gases released through sewers, and other inhumane reasons.

Article 23: Prohibition of traffic in human beings and forced labor.  
·         In addition to the provisions of the Constitution, India is a party to a number of international conventions and covenants that forbid the cruel practice of manual scavenging. These are the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), the Convention on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD), and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR).

Legal Provisions against Manual Scavenging in India:
·         India banned the practice under the Prohibition of Employment as Manual Scavengers and their Rehabilitation Act, 2013 (PEMSR).
·         The Act bans the use of any individual manually cleaning, carrying, disposing of or otherwise handling in any manner human excreta till its disposal.
·         The Act recognizes manual scavenging as a “dehumanizing practice”.

Reasons for the Prevalence of Manual Scavenging:  
1. Indifferent Attitude:
·         A number of independent surveys have talked about the continued reluctance on the part of state governments to admit that the practice prevails under their watch.

2. Outsourcing Workers :
·         Many times, local bodies outsource sewer cleaning tasks to private contractors. However, many of them fly-by-night operators, do not maintain proper rolls of sanitation workers. Contractors  even have denied any association with the deceased.

3. Caste System in India:  
·         The practice is driven by caste, class and income divides.
·         It is linked to India’s caste system where so-called lower castes are expected to perform this job.
·         In 1993, India banned the employment of people as manual scavengers (The Employment of Manual Scavengers and Construction of Dry Latrines (Prohibition) Act, 1993), however, the stigma and discrimination associated with it still linger on.
This makes it difficult for liberated manual scavengers to secure alternative livelihoods.
 
Steps taken to tackle the Menace of Manual Scavenging: 
1. The Prohibition of Employment as Manual Scavengers and their Rehabilitation (Amendment) Bill, 2020:
·         It proposes to completely mechanise sewer cleaning, introduce ways for ‘on-site’ protection and provide compensation to manual scavengers in case of sewer deaths.
·         It will be an amendment to The Prohibition of Employment as Manual Scavengers and their Rehabilitation Act, 2013.
·         It is still awaiting cabinet approval.
  
2. The Building and Maintenance of Insanitary Latrines Act of 2013:
·         It outlaws' construction or maintenance of unsanitary toilets, and the hiring of anybody for their manual scavenging, as well as of hazardous cleaning of sewers and septic tanks.
·         It also provides a constitutional responsibility to provide alternative jobs and other assistance to manual scavenging communities, as reparation for historical injustice and indignity.

3. Scheduled Castes & Scheduled Tribes (Prevention Of Atrocities) Act, 1989:
·         In 1989, the Prevention of Atrocities Act became an integrated guard for sanitation workers, more than 90% people employed as manual scavengers belonged to the Scheduled Caste. This became an important landmark to free manual scavengers from designated traditional occupations.

4. Safaimitra Suraksha Challenge:
·         It was launched by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs on World Toilet Day (19th November) in 2020.
·         The Government launched this “challenge” for all states to make sewer-cleaning mechanised by April 2021 — if any human needs to enter a sewer line in case of unavoidable emergency, proper gear and oxygen tanks, etc., are to be provided.
  
5. Swachhta Abhiyan App:
·         It has been developed to identify and geotag the data of insanitary latrines and manual scavengers so that the insanitary latrines can be replaced with sanitary latrines and rehabilitate all the manual scavengers to provide dignity of life to them.

6. National Action Plan for Mechanised Sanitation Ecosystem (NAMASTE):  
·         The NAMASTE scheme is being undertaken jointly by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs and the MoSJ&E and aims to eradicate unsafe sewer and septic tank cleaning practices.
·         SC Judgment: In 2014, a Supreme Court order made it mandatory for the government to identify all those who died in sewage work since 1993 and provide Rs. 10 lakh each as compensation to their families.

Way Forward  
·         With Swachh Bharat Mission identified as a top priority area by the 15th Finance Commission and funds available for smart cities and urban development providing for a strong case to address the problem of manual scavenging.
·         To address the social sanction behind manual scavenging, it is required first to acknowledge and then understand how and why manual scavenging continues to be embedded in the caste system.
·         The state and society need to take active interest in the issue and look into all possible options to accurately assess and subsequently eradicate this practice.

Best Case Study:  
·         The Chennai Metropolitan Water Supply and Sewerage Board (CMWSSB or Metrowater)  decided to convert the sanitary workers involved in manual scavenging into ‘sanipreneurs’ (sanitary entrepreneurs) by awarding them the tender for maintenance of the sewer system, using machines, for a period of seven years.
·         The eligibility criteria for the bidders were that they could either be core sanitation workers or the legal heirs of such workers who had died in line of duty, other sanitary workers, persons belonging to the Scheduled Castes/the Scheduled Tribes, women and others. 
·         The aim was to ensure safety, dignified self-employment and sustainable livelihood through entrepreneurship development to them.
·         The DICCI would assist the ‘sanipreneurs’ in obtaining loans sanctioned under Central and State government schemes and also train them in drafting business proposals, plans, contract agreements and so on. 
·         The ‘sanipreneurs’ would also be provided practical training in the sewer system maintenance with emphasis on safety.