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Training to Sanitation Workers by BWSSB

Because of the continued occurrence of manual scavenging deaths in Bengaluru city, the Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB) in a meeting held on 12.07.2019 under the Chairpersonship of the Additional Chief Secretary, was tasked with providing training to sanitation workers engaged in cleaning private Sewage Treatment Plants (STPs), open drains, gutters, manholes using private Sucking and Jetting Machines etc. including the 202 persons who had been identified by BBMP as manual scavengers in 2013.

An advertisement was issued inviting applications for the trainings. Safaikarmachari Kavulu Samithi-Karnataka assisted the Karnataka State Safaikarmachari Commission in identifying the participants for the trainings. So far, 177 workers have been trained as part of 3 batches. At the end of training, the participants were given certificates and BWSSB, Karnataka State Safaikarmachari Development Corporation and Karnataka State Safaikarmachari Commission will come up with a scheme to facilitate employment opportunities to the trained workers.

Details of Trainings being provided by BWSSB to Sanitation Workers

BatchDatesNo. of ParticipantsMenWomen
118 – 30 Nov 201938371
29 – 21 Dec 201975723
36 – 18 Jan 202064640
Total1771734

Photos (Batch 1 – 18 – 30 Nov 2019)

Photos (Batch 2 – 9 – 21 Dec 2019)

Photos (Batch 3 – 6 – 18 Jan 2020)

Day 5 (03/01/2020): State-level Jatha moves to Bengaluru Rural district

On its fifth day, the State-level Jatha for eradication of Manual Scavenging from Karnataka organized by Safaikarmachari Kavulu Samithi-Karnataka (SKKS) moved from Kolar district to Bengaluru Rural district. A rally was taken out by the workers culminating in a sit-in in front of the Deputy Commissioner office against the ineffective implementation of the Prohibiton of Employment as Manual Scavengers and their Rehabilitation Act 2013. The rally started at 12:00 pm and reached the office at 1:00 pm. The DC received the memorandum at 2:00 pm.

Memorandum-to-DC

The 5-day State-level Jatha for eradication of Manual Scavenging finished on 3rd January 2020.

Press Coverage

Day 4 (02/01/2020): State-level Jatha moves south to Kolar

On its fourth day, the State-level Jatha for eradication of Manual Scavenging from Karnataka organized by Safaikarmachari Kavulu Samithi-Karnataka (SKKS) moved from Dharwad district south to Kolar. A rally was taken out by the workers culminating into a sit-in front of the Deputy Commissioner office against the ineffective implementation of the Prohibiton of Employment as Manual Scavengers and their Rehabilitation Act 2013.

In Kolar district over 550 persons have been identified as manual scavengers but several of them are yet to be rehabilitated fully. A rally was taken out to the Deputy Commissioner (DC) Office. When the jatha reached the DC Office, the officials informed us that the DC was not available to receive our Memorandum despite advance initimation. Instead of handing over the Memorandum to junior officials the Samithi members staged a sit-in for 3 hours till the DC came in person to receive the memorandum and have a discussion with the contingent.

Memorandum

Press Coverage

Day 3 (01/01/2020): State-level Jatha moves to Dharwad

As the year 2020 rolled in, the State-level Jatha for eradication of Manual Scavenging from Karnataka organized by Safaikarmachari Kavulu Samithi-Karnataka (SKKS) moved from Haveri to Dharwad district on its third day. A sit-in was organized by the district level SKKS body in front of the Deputy Commissioner office against the ineffective implementation of the Prohibiton of Employment as Manual Scavengers and their Rehabilitation Act 2013.

A representative of the Deputy Commissioner, met the protestors and accepted the Memorandum on behalf of the Deputy Commissioner.

Memorandum-to-CM-ack

Press Coverage

Day 2 (31/12/2019): State-level Jatha moves northward to Haveri

The State-level Jatha for eradication of Manual Scavenging from Karnataka organized by Safaikarmachari Kavulu Samithi-Karnataka (SKKS) moved from Davangere to Haveri district on its second day, 31st Dec 2019. The campaign in Haveri began with a Press Meet.

Haveri district has not bee very active in identifying persons working as manual scavengers. During the survey conducted in 2016 in the rural areas of the district, only 8 persons were identified and they also are yet to get any rehabilitation. Hence, one of the main issued discussed with the District administration was expediting the process in the district.

A memorandum was submitted to the Chief Minister through the Deputy Commissioner.

Memorandum-to-CM-Haveri-ack

Day 1 (30/12/2019): State-level Jatha starts from Davangere

The State-level Jatha for eradication of Manual Scavenging from Karnataka which was organized by Safaikarmachari Kavulu Samithi-Karnataka (SKKS) began on 30th Dec 2019 from Davangere. The Jatha began with cultural team performing songs and street play and garlanding the status of Dr. B R Ambedkar.

A memorandum was submitted to the Deputy Commissioner of Davangere district regarding the unresolved issues of manual scavengers in Davangere district. In 2018, after a two-year long struggle, 156 persons had been identified as manual scavengers by the Davangere City Corporation. This identification itself was a culmination of the process that began in Davangere during the State-level Jatha organized by SKKS in 2016. But since the identification and the issuance of Identity Cards in 2018, no further rehabilitation has been provided by the administration to these 156 persons.

Mr. Mahantesh, Deputy Commissioner (Davangere) interacting with memeber of the Jatha

Additionally, in the recently concluded survey of Manual Scavengers in Davangere district, SKKS had facilitatied filing of 454 applications for identification across the 6 Urban Local Bodoes (Davangere City Corporation, Harihara CMC, Chanagiri TMC, Melebennuru TMC, Honnali TP and Jagaluru TP) in the district. Out of these, over 300 applications have been accepted. The Deputy Commissioner was also urged to expedite the process of rehabilitation of the newly identified persons also. A comprehensive memorandum was also submitted to the Chief Minister through the Deputy Commissioner.

Memorandum-to-CM-Davangere-ack

Case Report (02/04/2019): 3 workers die in a septic tank at Indi Town, Vijayapura

On 2nd April 2019, the owners of Amar International Hotel at Chadachan Road in Indi Town of Vijayapura district, asked Gudusaab Bagwaan (40), Nabilal Ekkewale (32) and Lalappa Madar (35) to clean the septic tank behind the hotel. The workers went inside the septic tank around 4 pm in the evening and never came back. The hotel owners checked the tank only at 7 pm and saw someone lying unconscious in the tank. When they called out, there was no response from any of the workers. The owners called the police along with Fire brigade. The body of Lallappa Madar, belonging to Dalit community, was brought out first but to get the bodies of the remaining two workers, JCB had to be brought to break open the tank.

CREATOR: gd-jpeg v1.0 (using IJG JPEG v80), quality = 80

On 27th April 2019, in a similar incident on Nagwara Main Road in Bengaluru City, two workers – Gafoor Pasha (45) and Aftab Pasha (38) – died while cleaning a well which was being used to dump sewage. On March 2, 2019, in a similar incident in Bengaluru city, a worker had died while cleaning a chamber of a private school on Bengaluru Main Road. The number of manual scavenging deaths in Karnataka has now crossed 80 and it does not look like that the trend of these deaths are going to end anytime soon because of complete absence of political will from the state government. Because of the pressure built by Dalit and Human Rights organizations, while compensation is being provided to the families of the deceased workers and FIRs are being registered promptly, the government has completely failed in taking steps towards preventing such deaths. There are two aspects to prevention of manual scavenging: 1) making technology available and 2) ensuring criminal action against those who employ human beings, in most cases dalits, as manual scavengers.

As part of a PIL filed by PUCL in 2009 (WP 30221/2009), the Karnataka High Court had ordered government to buy Sucking and Jetting Machines for all Urban Local Bodies. After these orders, each Urban Local Body was provided with minimum one Sucking and Jetting Machine. BWSSB has 125 S&J machines. But in many towns, these machines are lying idle. Some have broken down, some urban local bodies have not hired drivers and operators, while others have not publicized how people can request services of these machines. With machines becoming available, slowly and slowly, government bodies are being forced under public pressure to stop using manual scavengers in maintenance of sewers and manholes, but most cities do not have UGD coverage and houses and establishments rely on septic tanks and chambers. While few years back, most of the manual scavenging deaths were happening when government was employing manual scavengers for cleaning the sewers and manholes, off late a majority of deaths are happening when private persons like house owners or hotel or hospital or school owners hire workers for cleaning septic tanks or chambers. Thus ensuring that enough numbers of machines are available, and can be easily requested by private persons by calling a helpline number is a necessary step towards prevention of manual scavenging.

Indi Town also got one Sucking and Jetting Machine after this order which can be hired for 1500 rupees, but the hotel owners preferred using workers as manual scavengers for cleaning the septic tank. So, while availability of machines is necessary, it is not sufficient. Since, most people doing this work come from Dalit community, there is no value for their lives. Hence, if someone hires a person as manual scavengers, ensuring strict punishment, will act as deterrent. Unfortunately, in over 40 cases of manual scavenging deaths that have occurred since the 2013 Manual Scavenging Act came into being, there has not been a single conviction! The government needs to treat these cases as special category cases and try them in fast track courts after appointing special public prosecutors. Unless this is ensured, every year we would be counting dead bodies.

The Hindu (06/03/2019): Unpaid pourakarmikas turn manual scavengers

The illegal practice of manual scavenging is Bengaluru’s dirty little secret hidden behind the façade of posh apartment complexes, glass buildings and tech parks. The death of a daily wage worker while he was physically cleaning a sewage pit at a school in Begur on March 2 brings this problem back into the limelight.

Barely 70 km away, however, in Tumakuru district, the practice — banned under The Prohibition of Employment as Manual Scavengers and their Rehabilitation Act, 2013 — is more widespread. Many pourakarmikas who have lost their jobs and those who have not been paid for months are working as manual scavengers to eke out a living. Workers hired by gram panchayats haven’t received their wages for 10 months, while those contracted by urban local bodies have not been paid for two months.

Only urban local bodies in the district have one or two sewer jetting machines. This results in a demand for manual labourers at the rural level. More often than not, labourers are not provided with safety equipment. “I am paid ₹700 if I clean a soak pit, hence I work as a manual scavenger. I don’t have a choice as I have to feed my children,” said Maranna, a pourakarmika of Pavagada taluk.

The minimum wage for pourakarmikas across Karnataka is ₹541 per day. If a pourakarmika takes four days off in a month, they get ₹14,066 (i.e., 541×26 days) at the end of it. In most gram panchayats however, they are paid only ₹3,000 to ₹6,000 a month. There is no uniformity in wages and often, the pourakarmikas are not paid every month, as panchayat officials cite lack of funds. In most urban local bodies, minimum wages are paid. But this has not been the case for the past two months.

Another pourakarmika, Subhadramma, who works in the same taluk, said that most of the sewage pipes in Pavagada are connected to the drainage. “Men clean the drains without any safety gear and place the waste on the side of the road. We women fill metal bowls with night soil and carry it on our heads to load it onto tractors,” she said.

Allegations denied
When contacted, officials denied these allegations. Siddagangaiah, a member of the Madhugiri sub-divisional Manual Scavenging Vigilance Committee said that officers hesitate to show that their area has manual scavengers fearing legal issues. “There is manual scavenging in all the villages of the 10 taluks of Tumakuru district,” said Mr. Siddagangaiah.

K.B. Obalesh, a member of Karnataka State Manual Scavenging Monitoring Committee, pegged the number of manual scavengers in the district at 3,375 which he estimated could be the highest in any district across Karnataka.

Most gram panchayats, citing lack of funds, allegedly do not pay the minimum wages to pourakarmikas per month, as specified by the State government. “Many have also taken up manual scavenging after they lost their jobs in the direct recruitment process,” Mr. Obalesh added.

Stringent action
Jagadish Hiremani, member of the National Commission for Safai Karmacharis, said he had told officers to take stringent action against those who hire pourakarmikas to clean soak pits.

“I have also directed the Deputy Commissioner to pay all their pending salaries, issue payslips and conduct a master health check-up once in three months,” he said.

Link to Original article:

https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/karnataka/unpaid-pourakarmikas-turn-manual-scavengers/article26441518.ece

Status of Rehabilitation of Identified Manual Scavengers in Karnataka (2019)

Manual Scavenging is the practice of handling undecomposed human waste (urine and excreta) which involves human contact with it. As the nature of sanitation system has changed over years, the nature of the practice of manual scavenging has undergone change as well. Earlier, manual scavenging meant carrying of night soil in baskets but as flush toilets were introduced, the need arose for cleaning drains and pits/chambers into which these toilets discharge the waste. As sewer lines and underground drainage system (UGD) came into existence, workers were employed to clear blockages by getting down into manholes. Most recently, because of concern for lakes in Bengaluru, Sewerage Treatment Plants (STPs) have been made mandatory for large apartment complexes. When these STPs malfunction, workers are hired to manually clean and repair the STPs. In Karnataka, as in the rest of the country, all the old and newer forms of manual scavenging co-exist today. One aspect of the practice of manual scavenging that has remain unchanged is its caste-based nature. Across India, those who are engaged in this work belong to specific castes. In Karnataka, most of the persons engaged in this practice belong to Madiga community.

After the complete failure of The Employment of Manual Scavengers and Construction of Dry Latrines (Prohibition) Act, 1993 to make a dent in the practice of manual scavenging, the Parliament of India passed in 2013, The Prohibition of Employment as Manual Scavengers and their Rehabilitation (PEMSR) Act . The preamble of the Act acknowledges the existing reality

“AND WHEREAS the dehumanising practice of manual scavenging, arising from the continuing existence of insanitary latrines and a highly iniquitous caste system, still persists in various parts of the country, and the existing laws have not proved adequate in eliminating the twin evils of insanitary latrines and manual scavenging;

AND WHEREAS it is necessary to correct the historical injustice and indignity suffered
by the manual scavengers, and to rehabilitate them to a life of dignity.”

Thus apart from preventing and prohibiting the employment of persons as manual scavengers, identifying those who had been doing this work and rehabilitating them ‘to a life of dignity’ was the central aim of the new legislation. Dignity, which anywhere else one would be guaranteed just by the fact of being human, had to be first conferred in India by its Constitution. And in the case of manual scavengers, it would seem that even that wasn’t enough since in 2013, 63 years after the Constitution came into being, the Parliament had to enact a second legislation to fulfill the promise of dignity to those working as manual scavengers. How successfully has the government implemented the rehabilitative aspects of this Act in Karnataka?

Rehabilitation of Identified Manual Scavengers

Sec 11 and 12 of the 2013 Act places the responsibility of identification of persons working as manual scavengers on the local bodies in urban and rural areas respectively, under the overall direction of the Deputy Commissioner (District Collector). As part of the Supreme Court case Safai Karmachari Andolan & Ors. vs. Union of India & Ors. (WRIT PETITION (Civil) NO. 583 OF 2003), most of the local bodies had submitted affidavits stating that there were no workers employed as manual scavengers in their jurisdiction. The patent falsehood of this assertion was revealed by the Census 2011 figures which showed that Karnataka has close to one lakh insanitary latrines. So if there were no manual scavengers, who were cleaning them? Subsequently, Socio-Economic Caste Census showed that in rural Karnataka alone, there were more than 15,000 manual scavengers. In face of these facts, Karnataka government conducted surveys in urban areas in 2013 and in rural areas in 2016. Through these surveys, 302 persons were identified as manual scavengers in urban areas and 474 persons in rural areas. The fact that this was a gross underestimation was apparent to everyone including the administration but it continued with the fiction that 774 manual scavengers were cleaning 1 lakh insanitary latrines. A survey conducted in 2018 by National Safaikarmachari Finance and Development Corporation in 6 districts of Karnataka has identified another 1744 persons as manual scavengers. All these identified persons and their families are required to be rehabilitated in accordance with Sec 13 of the 2013 Act, which provides for:-

  1. One-time cash assistance with in a month of identification;
  2. Educational Scholarship to children;
  3. Residential plot and financial assistance for house construction;
  4. Training in livelihood skill to the worker or any one adult family member along with stipend of Rs 3000/- per month during the period of training;
  5. Subsidy and Concessional Loan to the worker or any one adult family member to take up alternative occupation.

Part (1), (3) and (4) of these rehabilitative measures as prescribed by the Act, have been operationalized through the Self-Employment Scheme for the Rehabilitation of Manual Scavengers (SRMS) as revised on 02.12.2013 in view of the PEMSR Act coming into force on 06.12.2013. Part (2) of the rehabilitation measures has been operationalized through Pre-Matric Scholarship for Children of Those Engaged in Occupations Involving Cleaning and Prone to Health Hazards. Part (3) of the rehabilitation package hasn’t been operationalized through any specific scheme but as part of Central Housing schemes like Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana and State Housing Schemes like Devaraj Urs Housing Scheme or Dr. Ambedkar Housing Scheme, families of workers identified as manual scavengers can be given priority.

Status of the Rehabilitation Process in Karnataka

Since the process of rehabilitation of those identified as part of the survey conducted by National Safaikarmachari Finance and Development Corporation in 2018 is yet to begin, we provide the status of the rehabilitation process for the 302 persons identified in 2013 in urban Karnataka and 474 identified in 2016 in rural areas of Karnataka only . Lets begin with provisioning of the housing first. In Karnataka, none of the local bodies have taken steps towards providing housing to the families of those identified as manual scavengers. The same situation prevails when it comes to provisioning of educational scholarships to children of those identified as manual scavengers. Data obtained through RTI from NSKFDC show that the Scheme for Pre-Matric Scholarship for Children of Those Engaged in Occupations Involving Cleaning and Prone to Health Hazards has not been operationalized in Karnataka as yet. The status of the other three components of the rehabilitation process comprising the SRMS scheme is shown in Table 1 below. Of the identified 776 persons, details of only 732 persons has been provided to NSKFDC for provision of One-time Cash Assistance (OTCA), Skill training and Self-Employment Capital Subsidy Loans. Even after 2-5 years of identification, 73 out of these 712 eligible persons have not been provided OTCA i.e. 12% of the total number of identified persons are yet to begin the process of rehabilitation. The progress in terms of provision of skills development training and capital subsidy loans is even more deplorable as shown in Table 1: only 159 identified persons (21.8%) have been provided skill development training, all of them from urban areas. None of the identified persons in rural areas have been provided skill-development training. Similarly, only 190 persons (64%) have been provided capital subsidy loans, the average value of the loans being Rs. 78,000. Effectively, the rehabilitation process in rural areas has not taken off at all beyond the provision of OTCA.

AreasNo. of Manual Scavengers whose details UploadedNot to be provided One-Time Case Assistance (OTCA) as per norm of one MS per familyProvided OTCA
(No. of MS)
No. of Beneficiaries Completed Skill Development TrainingSelf Employment: Capital Subsidy Released (No. of Beneficiaries)Self Employment: Amount of Capital Subsidy released
(Rs. Lakhs)
Urban297NA254 (86.9%)159 (53.5%)190 (63.9%)NA
Rural435NA385 (91.6%)0 (0.00%)0 (0.00%)NA
Total73220639 (88.8%)159 (21.8%)190 (26.0%)148.63

Beyond the numbers, the litmus test for an effective rehabilitation is if it has been able to facilitate a sustainable transition towards alternative income-generating occupation away from manual scavenging work. This is reflected in the design of the SRMS scheme. The purpose behind providing one-time-cash-assistance is to make up for the disruption in income from discontinuance of the manual scavenging work. The implementing authority is then required to quickly ascertain from the family of the identified person their choice of alternative occupation, nature of skill development training required and the capital subsidy loan needed. While the identified person or any other adult family member undergoes training a stipend of Rs 3000 per month should be provided and the capital subsidy loan should be arranged to enable the family to transition into the new livelihood. During and after this period also, if any programmatic assistance is required, the same should be provided to the family.

In not a single instance of rehabilitation examined by us, has this ideal process been followed. The implementation of the SRMS scheme in the state has been marred by large instances of incomplete/stalled rehabilitation process and the delays between each successive steps. As a result, there is a wide variance in the observed outcomes: while a large percentage of those having received OTCA still continue to make a living from manual scavenging, there are instances of people having used just the OTCA money to buy livestock, or having invested the money in street vending etc. Several of the families who have received the capital subsidy loans complain that while they had proposed projects requiring 1 to 4 lakhs for buying for example sewing machine, or setting-up a computer center or buying a taxi or an auto, officials only sanctioned loans of 20-30k for street vending. The Dr. B R Ambedkar Development Corporation was the State Nodal/Channelizing Agency (SNA/SCA) for SRMS till Jan 2018 after which the newly created Safaikarmachari Development Corporation was appointed as the SNA/SCA. The process of rehabilitation which was progressing in fits and starts under Dr. B R Ambedkar Development Corporation has now completely stalled under Safaikarmachari Development Corporation even as the funds allocated for the rehabilitation of identified workers sits in bank accounts. What is apparent is the apathy and criminal negligence of officials at all levels: local body CEOs and EOs; District Social Welfare Department Officials; Officials of Safaikarmachari Development Corporation, the state nodal agency for SRMS implementation; and the Social Welfare Department Secretariat officials. Meanwhile, for Govindappa and Oblappa whose stories are narrated below, death came before rehabilitation did.

Case Studies: Death Before Rehabilitation

1. Late Govindappa (56 years), Laxmisagara Village, Beglihosahalli GP, Kolar Taluka, Kolar District, Caste: Bhovi (SC)

Govindappa was 56 years old when he breathed his last on 20th Dec 2018. He died of kidney failure caused by prolonged and persistently high blood sugar levels. The doctors at a private hospital in Kolar town had asked for 6 Lakhs for kidney replacement operation, money which they didn’t have, says his wife Narayanamma (in picture). They had already spent 6 lakhs on his illness in the last one year, half of which was borrowed @ 3% monthly interest rate from a dominant caste money-lender, and has to be paid back now. Govindappa belongs to Bhovi caste included in the Scheduled Caste list in Karnataka. He used to clean latrine pits and tanks to earn his livelihood. This was not his traditional occupation though. His father worked as stone breaker which is the traditional occupation of the community in the region. Govindappa inherited 1 acre of unirrigated land which provided some ragi for domestic consumption but no income. To make ends meet, Govindappa had to take to this occupation.

Narayanamma, wife of late Govindappa, with a photo of her deceased husband in front of her house

As per 2011 Census, 88% of latrines in Beglihosahalli are connected to septic tanks while around 11 percent latrines are pit latrines. In a month he would be called to 8-10 houses for cleaning and emptying of pits for which he would be paid anywhere between Rs 200-300 making on an average Rs 2000-3000 per month. He was identified as a manual scavenger in March 2016 as part of a state-wide survey conducted by Rural Development and Panchayathi Raj Department and was promised rehabilitation as per Sec 13 of the PEMSR Act. The One-time Cash Assistance which should have been provided to him within a month of identification was provided to him on January 2018, 22 months (almost two years) later. By then, Govindappa was already battling with uncontrolled blood sugar levels. The OTCA was used to pay for the health expenses. He is survived by 4 sons, oldest son of age 21 years and youngest of 16 years age. Narayanamma suspects that two of her sons may also be going at night to clean pit latrines . No one from the Gram Panchayat or the Social Welfare Department contacted them about what the family would want to do as an alternative occupation, neither when Govindappa was alive, nor after his death. Narayannamma wants to set-up a grocery shop in the village and buy some cows to earn some income by selling milk. She estimates that she would need a loan of Rs 2 lakhs for these. While she has a site in the village, she wants to build a pucca house on it and needs financial assistance. Provision of these rehabilitation measures is vital to ensure that Govindappa’s family doesn’t continue in the occupation of manual scavenging. Because of their failure to implement these measures in a timely manner, the panchayath officials, officials from Social Welfare Department and from Safaikarmachari Development Corporation are guilty of perpetuating the practice of manual scavenging.

2. Late Oblappa (82 years), Kyalanuru Village, Kyalanuru GP, Kolar Taluka, Kolar District

Obalappa (82), now deceased

Oblappa (82 years at the time of death) belonged to a landless Adi-Karnataka (Madiga) family and spent his life carrying night soil and cleaning pits. His father did the same. Manual scavenging was the traditional occupation for Oblappa’s family. Kyalanuru Panchayat, where Oblappa worked has a large number of pit latrines (70% as per Census 2011), and several of them were ‘serviced’ by Oblappa till he couldn’t work anymore. In 2016, when he was registered as a manual scavengers, he thought he would be able to build a pucca house for his family and set-up some small business for his two sons who do coolie work in the sericulture farms in and around the village. He waited and waited but the One-time cash assistance that was promised to him never came. He was told to get a bank account and an Aadhar number if he wants to get the OTCA. He could hardly walk but he made several trips to open a bank account and an Aadhar number but even after several attempts to provide these details to the Social Welfare Department, they were never forwarded to NSKFDC for processing of the payment. Oblappa was older than this nation and its Constitution. The life of dignity which the independence movement promised, which the Constitution of India guaranteed and which the Parliament decreed through the PEMSR 2013, 66 years after independence, bypassed him.

Way Forward

In the FY 2015-16, the Government of Karnataka had set-up the Safaikarmachari Development Corporation to specifically cater to the needs of the safaikarmacharis. The need for a separate corporation was felt because the existing Dr. B R Ambedkar Development Corporation was unable to adequately serve the needs of the community. But since the establishment of the new corporation, the process of rehabilitation of identified manual scavengers in Karnataka has completely stalled. No new person has been provided any rehabilitation since the Safaikarmachari Development Corporation was made the nodal agency for the SRMS scheme. Meanwhile, several of those identified as manual scavengers, especially in rural areas continue in the same occupation or die waiting like Govindappa and Obalappa.

 

Case Report (02/03/2019): Death of a Worker in a Septic Tank of a Private School at Beguru in Bengaluru

On 02.03.2019, the administration of Jai Hind International School located near 11th Main, Hongasandra on Beguru Main Road in Bengaluru, reportedly engaged Manu (25), belonging to Lingayat community, for manually cleaning a septic tank/chamber into which the sewage from the toilets in the school empty out. Engaging any person for manual cleaning of septic tanks, which amounts to manual scavenging, is expressly prohibited by the Prohibition of Employment as Manual Scavengers and their Rehabilitation (PRMSR) Act 2013. Sec 2(d)(e) of the PEMSR Act defines hazardous cleaning as

d) “hazardous cleaning” by an employee, in relation to a sewer or septic tank, means its manual cleaning by such employee without the employer fulfilling his obligations to provide protective gear and other cleaning devices and ensuring observance of safety precautions, as may be prescribed or provided in any other law, for the time being in force or rules made thereunder;

Section 7 of the Act expressly prohibits manual cleaning of septic tanks and Sec 9 makes violations of this prohibition punishable offence:-

7. No person, local authority or any agency shall, from such date as the State Government may notify, which shall not be later than one year from the date of commencement of this Act, engage or employ, either directly or indirectly, any person for hazardous cleaning of a sewer or a septic tank;

9. Whoever contravenes the provisions of section 7 shall for the first contravention be punishable with imprisonment for a term which may extend to two years or with fine which may extend to two lakh rupees or with both, and for any subsequent contravention with imprisonment which may extend to five years or with fine which may extend to five lakh rupees, or with both.

Sec 2(d) imposes obligations on the employer to provide protective and safety equipment to workers and to take precautions before, during and after any person is engaged in cleaning septic tanks. These obligations have been defined in Chapter II of the Prohibition of Employment as Manual Scavengers and their Rehabilitation Rules, 2013 encompassing Rules 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8. But the private school which is affiliated with ICSE/IGCSE and claims to be an ‘International’ school providing facilities including a ‘swimming pool’, completely failed in discharging these obligations. In fact the BBMP Bomanahalli Zonal Office is just 1.5 kms away from the school, and the administration could have requested the services of a Jetting Machine, but the administration of the private school didn’t think twice before sending a person down a sewage pit.

Manu was not provided any safety equipment by the administration of the school and was assigned to clean the chamber without any supervision. When he fell into the pit, no body else was present at the spot. The pit was just 5 ft deep, and presence of any other person could have saved him. Only after several minutes of having fallen in the pit did somebody notice him and pull him out. By the time he was rushed to hospital, he had already died due to asphyxiation.

Sewage Pit which that was being emptied by Manu when he fell in

Manu came from the Lingayat community and is survived by his wife Nandini (22) who belongs to Adi-dravida (SC) community. Nadini says that their inter-caste marriage was never accepted by Manu’s mother and that is why they were living in a separate rented house in Hongasandra, just behind the school. Manu used to work as a casual labourer. They have a 4.5 year-old daughter.

Ms. Nandini, wife of late Ms. Manu, with their 4-yr old daughter

Based on a complaint filed by Ms. Nandini at the Beguru Police Station, a case has been registered under Sec 9 of PEMSR Act 2013 and Sec 304A of Indian Penal Code. Three people of the administration of Jai Hind International School, namely Mr. Raghavan (owner), Ms. Saroja (Principal) and Mr. Kishore (Co-ordinator) have been arrested based on the complaint. While Ms. Saroja was granted bail on 04.03.2019, the other two accused were sent into judicial custody.

Clearly this is a case where death has occurred not due to negligence but due to a conscious act on the part of the accused persons who with deliberate knowledge that it is illegal and dangerous to allow a person to clean the pit, has willfully made the deceased person get into the pit without any safety equipment endangering his life and finally causing the death of the deceased and hence the correct provision of law to be invoked is Sec 304 Part II and Sec 338 of IPC, 1860, as warranted by the facts of the case.

IPC Sec 304 Part II
Whoever commits culpable homicide not amounting to murder, shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to ten years, or with fine, or with both, if the act is done with the knowledge that it is likely to cause death, but without any intention to cause death, or to cause such bodily injury as is likely to cause death.

IPC Sec 338
Causing grievous hurt by act endangering life or personal safety of others.—Whoever causes grievous hurt to any person by doing any act so rashly or negligently as to endanger human life, or the personal safety of others, shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to two years, or with fine which may extend to one thousand rupees, or with both.

As specified above, sec 2(d) of the Prohibition of Employment as Manual Scavengers and their Rehabilitation Act 2013 read with Chapter II of the Prohibition of Employment as Manual Scavengers and their Rehabilitation Rules, 2013 create obligations on the employers to provide protective and safety equipment to workers and to take precautions before, during and after any person is engaged in cleaning septic tanks. But despite this common knowledge, the accused made a worker enter a septic tank completely unsupervised and without providing any safety or protective equipment whatsoever. Given these facts, Sec 304 Part II and Sec 338 of IPC, 1860 are clearly attracted.

Since 2008, over 70 people have died while engaged in cleaning septic tanks and sewers. In Bangalore city alone, since the 2013 Act came into force, there have been over 20 cases of manual scavenging leading to over 30 deaths but so far the police has not been able to secure a single conviction in any of these cases. The state administration seems to think that in cases of deaths resulting from manual scavenging, its responsibility ends with providing compensation to the family. Since the Congress (I)-JD(S) coalition government has come to power, they have not appointed anyone to the post of Chairman of the Karnataka State Safaikarmachari Commission after relieving the previous Chairman before the end of the tenure. Since the establishment of the Safaikarmachari Development Corporation, the process of rehabilitation of those identified as Manual Scavengers has completely stalled in Karnataka.

Further Interventions Required

  1. Sec 304 Part II and Sec 338 should be immediately added to the FIR filed in the case at the Beguru Police Station.
  2. The Beguru Police Station should expedite the process of investigation and filing of charge sheet in the case.
  3. While providing compensation to the family of the deceased as per Supreme Court Judgement in Safai Karamchari Andolan & Ors. Vs UOI [WP (C) 583/2003], the circumstances of inter-caste marriage between Mr. Manu and Ms. Nandini and non-acceptance of this marriage by Mr. Manu’s family should be kept in mind so as to ensure that Ms. Nandini and their daughter are not denied justice.
  4. The family of Mr. Manu should be provided rehabilitation as per the provisions of Sec 13 of the Prohibition of Employment as Manual Scavengers and their Rehabilitation Act 2013.
  5. The BBMP and BWSSB should jointly set-up a helpline which people can call to request services of Sucking and Jetting Machines and the helpline should be widely publicised.