Raina Paul and Jishnu EN, DH News Service, Bengaluru Feb 24 2018, 15:17 IST
According to the Prohibition of Employment as Manual Scavengers and their Rehabilitation Act, 2013, a manual scavenger should receive a one-time cash assistance, skill training, a monthly stipend and subsidy to take up an alternative job.
Rehabilitation of manual scavengers in the state remains a myth even after four years of the amendment to the Prohibition of Employment as Manual Scavengers and their Rehabilitation Act, 2013.
Rehabilitation of the 726 manual scavengers identified by the state government, of which as many as 303 were identified in 2013, while the remaining during 2016 and 2017, has not borne any fruit so far.
“Within six months of their identification, all of them are supposed to be rehabilitated. But this has not happened,” said Obalesh, state convener, Safai Karmachari Kavalu Samithi Karnataka.
According to the Prohibition of Employment as Manual Scavengers and their Rehabilitation Act, 2013, a person who is identified as a manual scavenger should receive a one-time cash assistance, training in a livelihood skill and a monthly stipend and subsidy for taking up an alternative occupation (self-employment projects).
According to the data released by the state government last year, out of the total manual scavengers identified in the state, as many as 436 manual scavengers were given one-time cash assistance of Rs 40,000 each and self-employment projects were sanctioned for 224 of them. However, according to Obalesh who also works for the welfare of manual scavengers across the state, none of them have received an alternative job, so far.
Advocate Clifton D’Rozario, who also works for the welfare of manual scavengers, said that none of the manual scavengers have received a job, although the law provides for it. He said that the community of Dalits, which mainly constitute manual scavengers, is one of the most neglected one in the state.
On Jan 27, 2018, The Hindu, had reported that insanitary latrines in violation of the Prohibition of Employment as Manual Scavengers and their Rehabilitation (MSR) Act 2013 had been built at Tyagi Nagar – a temporary are built at Shravanbelegola – to be used during the Mahamastakabhisheka festival at Shravanbelegola in Hassan, Karnataka. The news report also mentioned that dalits from Chitrakoot district in Uttar Pradesh have been brought to clean these insanitary latrines.
On Jan 28, 2018, the Principal Secretary to the Revenue Department, Government of Karnataka, directed the organisers to demolish the insanitary latrines as reported by the The Hindu. Section 5 of the MSR Act 2013 states that
5. (1) Notwithstanding anything inconsistent therewith contained in the Employment of Manual Scavengers and Construction of Dry Latrines (Prohibition) Act, 1993, no person, local authority or any agency shall, after the date of commencement of this Act,— (a) construct an insanitary latrine;
Any contravention of provisions of Section 5 is punishable under Section 8 of the MSR Act 2013. Hence, instead of directing the organizers of the religious festival, the administration should have filed criminal charges against the organizers for violation of the MSR Act 2013.
On 30 Jan 2018, after a visit to the site, members of Karnataka State Safai Karmachari Commission had brought this to the notice of the district administration and had issued a notice to the organizers to demolish all insanitary latrines, as reported by The Hindu.
Despite these directions, the insanitary latrines were not demolished. Under the Act, the Deputy Commissioner has the responsibility of ensuring that the prohibitory provisions are not violated but the Deputy Commissioner of Hassan district Ms. Rohini Sindhuri appeared to condone the violations. The News Minute had quoted her saying:
“The Tyagis are Digambar Jains and are set in their ways. They don’t use the sanitary toilets that we use. The township has been divided into 12 Nagars and Tyagi Nagar is being looked after by the Jain Mutt. The Safai Karamchari Commission and the Revenue Secretary has issued a notice to the mutt, but the religious leaders said that they will defecate in the open since it is their custom.”
She claimed that the festival was not violating the provisions of the MSR Act 2013. But the videos and the pictures below show clearly that the organizers chose to ignore these directions of the Commission and the Revenue Department even as the the district administration chose to look the other way and wilfully abetted the perpetuation of the casteist inhuman practice of manual scavenging.
Image showing insanitary latrines being cleaned by workersWithout a flush, these latrines require manual cleaning making them insanitary latrines as defined under the MSR Act 2013Sec 5 of the MSR Act 2013 prohibits construction of insanitary latrines. Violation of this provision is a punishable criminal offense.
2(1)(g) “manual scavenger” means a person engaged or employed, at the commencement of this Act or at any time thereafter, by an individual or a local authority
or an agency or a contractor, 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 the insanitary latrines is disposed of, or on a railway track or in such other spaces or premises, as the Central Government or a State Government may notify, before the excreta fully decomposes in such manner as may be
prescribed, and the expression “manual scavenging” shall be construed accordingly.
Employment of persons for cleaning insanitary latrines is prohibited under Sec 7 of the MSR Act 2013.Barefoot workers cleaning the insanitary latrines
After this damning evidence surfaced, Safaikarmachari Kavulu Samithi Karnataka, submitted complaint to the Chief Secretary of Government of Karnataka and also submitted a memorandum to the Chairman of National Safai Karmachari Commission during their visit to Karnataka. Safaikarmachari Kavulu Samithi demanded that cases should be immediately booked under Sec 8 and 9 of the Prohibition of Employment as Manual Scavengers and their Rehabilitation Act 2013 and Sec 3(1)(j) of the SC/ST Prevention of Atrocities Act 1989 as amended in 2016 against the organizers of the event and the Deputy Commissioner of Hassan district who failed to ensure the dignity and human rights of dalit workers.
On 15.03.2018, the inspection was conducted in the presence of officials from Social Welfare Department, Tehsildar Office (Chennarayapattana), Panchayat Development Officer (Shravanbelegola) and Assistant Executive Engineer, Hassan, Karnataka Urban Water Supply Board.
We visited one portion of a temporary settlement called Tyaginagar built for the Jain monks. On one side of the settlement 72 dry latrines have been constructed exclusively for use by the monks. We were told that there were at least two more such latrine clusters which means upwards of 200 insanitary latrines.
Notice saying “For Use by Monks Only”
There was clear evidence that these latrines had been used as some of them still had dry faecal matter and there was no flush system to clean the faeces without either using a bucket or a pipe.
Picture of a Insanitary Latrine with dry fecal matter as present on 15.03.2018
The faecal matter had to be washed away using bucket or a pipe to pits dug up behind these latrines. The pits had been covered with tin sheds and strong smell was emanating from the used latrines and the pits. The space around the pits and latrines were closed off using tin sheets and it is not possible for Sucking Machines to enter the area and clean the latrines.
Pits dug behind the insanitary latrines into which undecomposed fecal matter was being discharged
Section 2(1)(e) of the Prohibition of Employment as Manual Scavengers and their Rehabilitation Act, 2013, defined insanitary latrines in following terms:-
“insanitary latrine” means a latrine which requires human excreta to be cleaned or otherwise handled manually, either in situ, or in an open drain or pit into which the excreta is discharged or flushed out”
Clearly the fecal matter from the latrines built at Shravanbelegola had to be cleaned manually and had been discharged into pits before decomposition as evidenced by the strong smell emanating from the pits.
Section 5(1)(a) of the 2013 Act prohibits construction of insanitary latrines:-
5. (1) Notwithstanding anything inconsistent therewith contained in the Employment of Manual Scavengers and Construction of Dry Latrines (Prohibition) Act, 1993, no person, local authority or any agency shall, after the date of commencement of this Act,—
(a) construct an insanitary latrine;
Any violation of this prohibition is a punishable offense as per Sect 8 of the Act:-
8. Whoever contravenes the provisions of section 5 or section 6 shall for the first contravention be punishable with imprisonment for a term which may extend to one year or with fine which may extend to fifty thousand rupees or with both, and for any subsequent contravention with imprisonment which may extend to two years or with fine which may extend to one lakh rupees, or with both.
Section 22 of the 2013 Act states that
22. Notwithstanding anything contained in the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973, every offence under this Act shall be cognizable and non-bailable.
Thus the police can take cognizance of offences under the Act even without a complaint but as yet there is not even an FIR in this case. Is the Deputy Commissioner above the law? Or is the dignity of dalit workers expendable?
Despite claims by the Karnataka State Pollution Control Board that the city has 597 privately functioning Sewage Treatment Plants, the agency is clueless about the exact figures.
“The board official told me that there are 896 STPs and 2,413 apartments in the city,” said K B Obalesh, state convener for the monitoring committee for the Prohibition of Employment as Manual Scavengers and their Rehabilitation Act.
In an RTI application, Obalesh had sought information on the number of apartments, and the STPs when three labourers were asphyxiated to death in at the ND Sepal Apartment in HSR Layout on January 7.
The apartment was issued consent for establishment (CFE) during its planning stage. But it failed to take Consent For Operation, a requirement to manage private STPs.
Obalesh also said 90% of the private STPs function in the basement, against the National Green Tribunal rules. “Going by the number of apartments furnished by the board, and considering that each of them have two STPs, the numbers should be not less than 4,000,” he said.
At a recent meeting convened by the Karnataka State Commission for Safai Karmachari with stakeholders like the BBMP, BWSSB, KSPCB and the police, the board could not provide the precise numbers in terms of the existing STPs. The commission gave time till the next meeting on Saturday to come up with the right numbers.
Awareness programmes
KSCSK chairman M R Venkatesh said the commission has directed the pollution board to conduct zone-wise awareness programmes for apartment dwellers on maintaining STPs.
“We’ve lost six labourers to manual scavenging this year, thanks to the negligence of the building owners,” he said.
The pollution board said it issued CFE to 2,944 apartments until 2017, of which only 597 have received CFO till 2016. It issued 3,820 CFEs throughout the state, of which 1,142 apartments were given CFOs.
Funds not provided for scholarship to kids of scavengers
Raina Paul, DH News Service, Bengaluru Feb 25 2018, 0:50 IST
Denied centre sponsored scholarship for four years
The children of manual scavengers have not been provided centrally-sponsored pre-matric scholarship for the past four years, the Karnataka State Commission for Safai Karamcharis (KSCSK) has revealed. PTI file photo
The children of manual scavengers have not been provided centrally-sponsored pre-matric scholarship for the past four years, the Karnataka State Commission for Safai Karamcharis (KSCSK) has revealed.
Data from the KSCSK suggests that children of those cleaning sewage tanks did not get the scholarships between 2012-13 and 2016-17 for their high school education.
“It’s tragic that their families did not have the knowledge that such a scholarship even exists,” said Obalesh, member of KSCSK, who has also been working with manual scavengers for the past 15 years.
Despite the fact that the pre-matric scholarship was started in 2008, no funds had been allocated for it in the state.
The Prohibition of Employment as Manual Scavengers and their Rehabilitation Act, 2013, guarantees scholarship for children of manual scavengers for higher education.
Another KSCSK member Gokul Narayanaswamy said the commission would give scholarship to children from Class I to XII from this year, besides providing cash assistance of Rs 1,500 per month.
An activist working with the manual scavengers, who did not wish to be named, pointed out that the government does not have a clear number. “If they don’t know how many manual scavengers exist, how could they provide scholarship for their children?” he asked.
Children are asked to get a certificate, stating that one of their parents is involved in manual scavenging, and this is harder.
Despite the claims of Hassan Deputy Commissioner Rohini Sindhuri that provisions of the Prohibition of Employment as Manual Scavengers and their Rehabilitation (MSR) Act 2013 were not violated during the Mahamastakabhisheka festival at Shravanbelegola, Hasan, Karnataka, evidence in possession of the Safaikarmachari Kavulu Samithi – Karnataka shows clearly that insanitary latrines were built at the venue and cleaned by barefoot workers which violates section 5 and 7 of the MSR Act 2013.
On Jan 27, 2018, The Hindu, had reported that insanitary latrines in violation of the MSR Act 2013 had been built at Tyagi Nagar – a temporary are built at Shravanbelegola – to be used during the Mahamastakabhisheka festival at Shravanbelegola in Hassan, Karnataka. The news report also mentioned that dalits from Chitrakoot district in Uttar Pradesh have been brought to clean these insanitary latrines. During a visit to the site, members of State Safai Karmachari Commission had brought this to the notice of the district administration and had issued a notice to the organizers to demolish all insanitary latrines.
The Newsminute had quoted the Deputy Commissioner saying: “The Tyagis are Digambar Jains and are set in their ways. They don’t use the sanitary toilets that we use. The township has been divided into 12 Nagars and Tyagi Nagar is being looked after by the Jain Mutt. The Safai Karamchari Commission and the Revenue Secretary has issued a notice to the mutt, but the religious leaders said that they will defecate in the open since it is their custom.”
But as the pictures below show clearly, the organisers chose to ignore these directions of the Commission and the Revenue Secretary even as the the district administration chose to look the other way and wilfully abetted the perpetuation of the casteist inhuman practice of manual scavenging.
We demand that cases should be booked under Sec 8 and 9 of the Prohibition of Employment as Manual Scavengers and their Rehabilitation Act 2013 and Sec 3(1)(j) of the SC/ST Prevention of Atrocities Act 1989 as amended in 2016 against the organisers of the event and the district officials who failed to ensure the dignity and human rights of dalit workers. Since 2008, 72 lives have been cut short by this cruel practice of manual scavenging in Karnataka and the State has failed to convict even one accused in these cases. Would the flagrant violation of human rights of dalits at Shravanbelegola go similarly unpunished?
Mr. K B Obalesh State Convener, Safaikarmachari Kavulu Samithi Karnataka Ph: +91 97425 86468
In a sheer display of government apathy and neglect, two more labourers, Ramu (age 25 ) and Ravi (age 28 ), from Raichur, have been deliberately pushed to death in a septic tank at the Yum Lok restaurant in AECS layout. These deaths are as a result of failure of the Karnataka State Pollution Control Board (KPSCB) and the BBMP to strictly implement guidelines around the construction and maintenance of commercial establishments.
Under section 7 of the Prohibition of Employment as Manual Scavengers and Their Rehabilitation Act, 2013,expressly prohibits employment of persons for hazardous cleaning of a sewers or septic tanks and any contravention of this section is cognizable and a non-bailable offence under section 9 of the above Act. Additionally, offences are made out under section 3(1) (j) of the Prevention of Atrocities Act, 1989 as amended in 2016, as well as under IPC sec 304 (part 2).
As per the statement issued by the Municipal Corporation’s Joint Commissioner for Health, Sarfaraz Khan, the restaurant’s application has been rejected by the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagar Palike but it has continued to operate illegally. Why are illegal entities continuing to operate in Bengaluru? It is due to failure of the monitoring and implementing bodies such as the BBMP and KPSCP to continuously monitor and take strict actions to shut down commercial establishments that operate with impunity and leading to loss of life of young men from marginalized communities.
The Safai Karmachari Kavalu samiti, Karnataka, is a group of activists working for the rehabilitation of persons engaged in manual scavenging and total eradication of manual scavenging, which is the worst form of caste based slavery. Known cases of manual scavenging related deaths in Bengaluru city has already reached 5 in 2018. The Kavalu samiti strongly condemns the continuing inaction by the KSPCB, BBMP and state government to take strict action to prevent all forms of manual scavenging and strictly penalize violations by the government, commercial establishments and apartment complexes.
As per the directions under the 2014 Supreme Court judgement in Safai Karamachari Andolan & Ors. Vs. Union of India & Ors family of the two men, should be provided a compensation of Rs. 10 lakhs each immediately and the state government should also take immediate steps towards providing a government job to one member of deceased family as per the provisions of the 2013 Act and 2014 SC judgement.
For more information, please contact
Mr. K B Obalesh State Convener, Safaikarmachari Kavulu Samithi Karnataka Ph: +91 97425 86468
SafaikarmachariKavalu Samiti, Karnataka is a group of activists working for the rehabilitation of persons engaged in manual scavenging and total eradication of manual scavenging, which is the worst form of caste based slavery.
The samiti is distressed and deeply concerned that a 50 foot long and 5 foot high wall has been erected by the Paraiyar community in Santhaiyur village, specifically to create a barrier against the Arunthathiyars living in the same area.
Inspite of the Madurai bench of the Madras High court ordering in August 2017, that the wall, which has been built unlawfully, should be demolished within four months, there has been no attempt to demolish the wall.
The Safai Karmachari Kavalu Samiti is of the belief that this kind of wall exists between different sub-castes across the country and is a manifestation of a deep rooted caste structure that divides even those it oppresses.
The communities which have been victim to the caste system for decades, should work together to remove these caste hierarchies between themselves and not become further points of oppression.
We urge the paraiyar community to immediately dismantle this wall that is a form of humiliation and oppression against the arunthathiyar community. If this is not done, we demand the district administration of Madurai to intervene and dismantle the wall to uphold the Constitutional right to dignity of the Arundhathiyar community.
For more information, please contact
Mr. K B Obalesh
State Convener, Safaikarmachari Kavulu Samithi Karnataka
The death of Madegowda (45), Srinivas (52) and Narayanswamy (43) while cleaning the Sewage Treatment Plant (STP) at N D Sepal Apartments at Somsundarapalya, Bengaluru could have been prevented if Karnataka State Pollution Control Board (KSPCB) had discharged its responsibility by ordering the closure of the STP which was not authorized to operate in the first place.
To be in compliance with the mandatory requirements of the Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act 1974, apartments have to seek Consent for Establishment (CFE) before building STPs and Consent for Operation (CFO) before starting operation of the STP.
Documents accessed by Safaikarmachari Kavulu Samithi-Karnataka, a forum of Dalit activists working to eradicate manual scavenging, show that while the builder of N D Sepal Apartment had been granted Consent for Establishment (CFE) in 2006, the apartments owners had not applied for Consent For Operation (CFO), making the STP an unauthorized illegal one. Whats more, this fact was not unknown to the officials of the Board. In a joint inspection conducted by KSPCB and BWSSB officials on 12.06.2017, the inspection team discovered that the apartments were operating the STP without proper authorization. The inspection report also noted that the treatment process of the STP was non-compliant with the specified discharge standards.
Based on this inspection report, a show-cause notice was sent on 24.07.2017 to the N D Sepal Apartment Owners Association asking them to respond in 7 days time, to which the apartment owners never responded. In light of these events, KSPCB should have issued closure notice to the apartment asking them to immediately shut down the STP but no such action has been taken as on date. If KSPCB had discharged its regulatory responsibilities, three lives could have been saved.
This is the third in a series of incidents in the last 18 months where workers with no experience of STP maintenance have been made to clean them and have died in the process. On 17th Oct 2016, two workers Venkatesh (27) and Manjunath (30) had died while cleaning the STP at RNS Shantinivas Apartments in Yeshwantpur. On June 1, 2017, Prithviraj (23) had died in the STP at Jatti Dwarkamayi Apartments in Whitefield. These deaths could have been prevented if the Board while mandating establishment of STPs in apartments had asked the question of who will clean these STPs and put in place guidelines on cleaning of STPs in compliance with the provisions of the Prevention of Employment as Manual Scavengers and their Rehabilitation Act 2013. But keeping in with the casteist origin of the practice of Manual Scavenging no such guidelines were prescribed leading to the death of 6 workers, two of them Dalits. In light of the above facts, Safaikarmachari Kavulu Samithi Karnataka demands that an urgent meeting of the Board be convened and following actions be taken:-
All unauthorised and non-compliant STPs should be shut down immediately;
The Board should issue immediate notification prohibiting engagements of human beings for cleaning, repair and maintenance of the STPs which is a criminal offence as per Section 7 of The Prevention of Employment as Manual Scavengers and their Rehabilitation Act 2013;
The Board should issue detailed guidelines on Operation and Maintenance including cleaning of STPs prescribing procedures which are complaint with provisions of The Prohibition of Manual Scavenging and their Rehabilitation Act 2013.
Lastly the Police should add penal sections of The Prevention of Employment as Manual Scavengers and their Rehabilitation Act 2013 as well as the Sec 304 Part II of Indian Penal Code to the existing FIRs.
For more information, please contact
Mr. K B Obalesh
State Convener, Safaikarmachari Kavulu Samithi Karnataka
In March 2016, Safaikarmachari Kavulu Samithi (SKKS) in collaboration People’s Union of Civil Liberties (PUCL-Karnataka), JAC, SJK, Samanatha Union, SC/STs Pourakarmika Union and various district level organizations organized a state-level jatha (campaign) to create mass awareness about eradication of manual scavenging practice and demanding the implementation of PEMSR Act 2013. The jatha aimed at mainstreaming issues of Manual Scavengers and mobilizing public opinion in favor of eradication of practice of manual scavenging.
Jatha Begins
The demands raised by the jatha including implementation of rehabilitation schemes under PEMSR Act 2013. The jatha which began on 22 March covered 20 districts of the state. The jatha was also video-recorded as part of a documentary on the issue and the footage from the final rally has been used in a Kannada film titled Amravathi (released in 2017) which raises the issues of contract safaikarmacharis. The jatha released an open letter addressed to MPs, MLAs, MLCs and Ministers, drawing their attention towards the recurring deaths of MS, deliberate denial of their rights and entitlements because of negligence of officials in the implementing MS Act 2013.
Open Letter Released by the Jatha
Mr. H K Patil, Minister for Rural Development & Panchayat Raj received the memorandum during the jatha and assured to issue notification for conducting full-fledged survey as per provisions of PEMSR Act 2013.
Tumkuru District Collector accepting Memorandum from the Jatha
The jatha concluded with a state-level protest on 31st March in front of Chief Ministers’ residence in Bengaluru after which a delegation met the Chief Minister and submitted a memorandum of demands to him.
Jatha participants speaking to RDPR Minister Sh. H K Patil
After this state-level mobilization, the impact of the jatha led to announcement of several decision in the interests of MS/SK:-
The State Cabinet also took a decision to prepare a draft bill for special recruitment of contract safaikarmacharis thereby regularizing their services fixing the deadline of March 2017 for its implementation.
State government revised minimum wages of safaikarmacharis across the state with effect from 4th August 2016. With this, minimum wages were revised in following manner: –
Table 1: Revised Minimum Wages for Contract Safaikarmachris as per ULB employer
Area
Minimum wage
Bruhat Bangalore Municipal Corporation (BBMP) and other municipal corporations
