Madras HC to ban the Manual Scavengers

Chennai, July 16: The Madras High Court has directed the Central and the State Governments to ensure the implementation of the Prohibition of Employment as Manual Scavengers and their Rehabilitation Act, 2013 here on Saturday.

The First Bench of Chief Justice Indira Banerjee and Justice M. Sundar passed the order on a Public Interest Litigation petition moved by Safai Karamchari Andolan, a national movement for total eradication of manual scavenging.

The Bench said," Section 7 of the Prohibition of Employment as Manual Scavengers and their Rehabilitation Act, 2013 bars persons from engagement or employment for hazardous cleaning of sewers and septic tanks".

"Those engaging manual scavengers in violation of Sections 5, 6, and 7 of the said Act render themselves liable to a penalty under sections 8 and 9 of the said Act."Justice Bench said.

However, The petition submitted that as per an RTI query, a total of 30 persons have lost their lives by manual scavenging in the districts of Chennai, Thiruvallur, Cuddalore, Madurai, Tiruchi, Villupuram, and Virudhunagar between January 1, 2014, and March 20 this year.

Earlier, A survey conducted by the Tamil Nadu government on June 13, 2017, showed that there were 363 manual scavengers in the urban areas but none in rural areas, it claimed.