NHRC Chairperson expresses serious concern over wide spread continuance of manual scavenging and hazardous cleaning; calls for implementation of innovative techniques to end this menace
Justice A. K. Mishra, the Chairperson, said that the toilets constructed as part of Swachch Bharat Mission were expected to help in the eradication of manual scavenging. But these also suffer from several shortcomings. According to the National Annual Rural Sanitation Survey 2019-20, only 27.3 percent of the toilets surveyed have a double leach pit; 1.1 percent goes into a sewer while all others empty into some form of a septic tank or single pits which requires manual cleaning.
Mr Justice P.C Pant, Member, NHRC, said that the toxicity of the society in the form of denials of basic human rights of manual scavengers needs to be nullified.
The meeting was attended by Mr. Bimadhar Pradhan, Secretary-General, Mr. R.K Khandelwal, Additional Secretary, NHRC and representatives from Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment, Municipal Corporations of Hyderabad, Chennai, Kolkata, Mumbai, Civil Society Organization members & NGOs.
The key pointers were
• Replicate Best Practices across selected Municipal Corporations (Hyderabad, Chennai etc.)
• Evaluating the impact of Mechanisation & Technology on Manual Scavenging
• Various centrally sponsored schemes & programs run by Ministries to be implemented to fill existing gaps.
The NHRC has on many occasions expressed grave concern on the persistence of the practice of manual scavenging in the past through its various letters, National Seminars and Regional Workshops urging concerned stakeholders to take adequate steps towards eradicating these hazardous practices.
National Human Rights Commission
[Press Release dt. 5-07-2021]