NHRC initiates probe as Dalit sanitation workers receive mere ₹200 Diwali bonus

The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has directed the labour commissioner of Mumbai to investigate a complaint filed by activist Godfrey Pimenta from the Watchdog Foundation regarding contractual sanitation workers getting ₹200 Diwali bonus per head. The workers are given low monthly pay and work in abysmal conditions. The NHRC has urged the labour commissioner to take appropriate action within 8 weeks.

MUMBAI: The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has directed the labour commissioner of Mumbai to investigate a complaint filed by activist Godfrey Pimenta from the Watchdog Foundation regarding contractual sanitation workers getting ₹200 Diwali bonus per head. In addition to the paltry bonus, the workers are given low monthly pay and work in abysmal conditions. On December 21, the NHRC, urged the labour commissioner to take appropriate action within 8 weeks.

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The SMPA , which was formed in 2013, is formerly known as Dattak Vasti Yojana. Its workers operate as volunteers under the scheme, responsible for cleanliness in Mumbai’s slums. They engage in door-to-door garbage collection, clean alleys, drains, and toilets.

The complaint, filed on November 14, highlights the meager Diwali bonuses as insulting and reflective of a disregard for the strenuous nature of their work. The monthly salary of these workers, standing at a meager ₹5,500, and their unsafe working conditions, including the lack of protective gloves when handling gutters, are also raised as issues in the complaint.

Sushil Shinde, a Dalit SMPA worker said, “The contractor gave some of us ₹200, but some of us got nothing at all. We work from 7am to around 1pm, with some of us collecting garbage and others cleaning the gutters. They give us gloves at the beginning of the month, but they tear in four to five uses.”

“The SMPA scheme has been the most harmful to the workers,” said Shubham Kothari from the Jan Haq Sangharsh Samiti, an NGO that works with sanitation worker. “It has reduced workers to the status of mere volunteers and capped their pay at a paltry ₹180 per day. This is completely unsustainable and unconstitutional. This is not voluntary work; it is essential work and is done 365 days a year.”

In addition to the insufficient pay, SMPA workers face challenging conditions without holidays, benefits, or employment protection. “The scheme still uses population data from the 2011 census. So, when a worker is appointed to clean an area of 200 houses, they’re actually doing the work for 500 or more houses,” added Kothari.

The NHRC’s directive follows the announcement by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) to revamp the SMPA scheme, addressing its inefficiencies. The new scheme, set for implementation in January, aims to assign workers to door-to-door garbage collection and slum cleaning under private contractors for each ward. Workers will receive a fixed base amount, with additional pay based on key performance indicators.

Additional municipal commissioner Sudhakar Shinde, who announced the scheme, assured that workers would receive compensation above the current meager amount of ₹5,500 per month. Contractors will be held accountable for any lapses in cleanliness.

“I’m convinced tackling cleanliness at the level of the densely populated slums will be a panacea to the problems of sanitation, health and disaster management. We will be in a far better position to tackle the next monsoon,” said Shinde, with confidence.