New Delhi:
In a landmark judgement, the Supreme Court on Thursday ordered the abolition of manual scavenging and asked state governments to provide financial assistance and rehabilitation to those who had lost a family member to the inhuman practice.
The three judge bench of the Supreme Court, led by the Chief Justice P Sathasivam, said that "the official statistics of the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment for the year 2002-2003 put the figure of identified manual scavengers at 6,76,009. Of these, over 95 per cent are Dalits, compelled to undertake this denigrating task."
The court ordered that if the practice of manual scavenging has to be brought to a close, certain measures had to be taken. The court ordered the payment of Rs 10 lakh to the family of those who died cleaning sewers since 1993. The court also asked for the provision of residential plots or a flat to the deceased's family and scholarship to the children. While also asking all states to implement the new 2013 law, prohibiting manual scavenging entirely.
The big culprit, the Railways was also taken to task with the court saying it must ensure a time-bound strategy to end manual scavenging, prevalent at all railway stations.
The court's decision was based on the writ petition by the Safai Karanchari Andolan, which claimed that the custom not only continues in several states but had also increased. It also claimed that over 95 per cent of those who continue this inhuman practice are Dalits, with majority of them being women. However, the bigger task for states now will be to identify the families of all those who died cleaning sewers since 1993 and make sure that the adequate compensation reaches them in a time-bound manner.