Hazardous Cleaning and Manual Scavenging in India
UPSC Relevance
Prelims: Social Justice, Governance, Current Events of National and International Importance, Government Schemes.
Mains:
GS Paper 1 (Indian Society): Salient features of Indian Society, Diversity of India; Social empowerment, communalism, regionalism & secularism; Poverty and developmental issues.
GS Paper 2 (Governance & Social Justice): Welfare schemes for vulnerable sections of the population by the Centre and States and the performance of these schemes; Mechanisms, laws, institutions and Bodies constituted for the protection and betterment of these vulnerable sections.
Key Highlights from the News
A social audit conducted by the Central government found that over 90% of workers who died while cleaning sewers were not wearing any safety gear or Personalized Protective Equipment (PPE) kits.
Out of 54 deaths examined, workers were not wearing safety equipment in 49 cases. Often, their only protective gear consisted of gloves and gumboots.
In 47 instances, workers were not provided with mechanized equipment or safety gear for cleaning sewers and septic tanks.
Often, workers were assigned to this job without obtaining their informed consent and without educating them about the job's hazards.
In most cases (38), workers were contracted personally/individually. This helps employers evade legal responsibilities.
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