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Karnataka HC tells govt to ensure strict adherence to rules on manual scavenging
Talking about the instances where people have lost their lives in manual scavenging the court said no safety gear is provided to workers.
Karnataka high court on Monday asked the state government to ensure strict compliance of rules with regard to manual scavenging.
A division bench of acting Chief Justice Satish Chandra Sharma and Justice Sachin Shankar Magadum said that the Prohibition of Employment as Manual Scavengers and their Rehabilitation Act, 2013 and the rules must be followed in such cases.
Talking about the instances where people have lost their lives in manual scavenging the court said no safety gear is provided to workers. “The persons who have lost their lives were certainly not wearing air purifier gas mask and they were not properly equipped and therefore the state government and all local bodies of the state government are directed to ensure that in case a sewer has to be cleaned manually, no cleaning will take place without following statutory provisions under the act and the rules, especially from rule 3 to 8,” the order said.
“It is unfortunate that even when the act is in existence, its provisions are being violated by local bodies by the state government or by the contractors appointed by the local bodies.”
During the hearing on Monday, the court pointed out that the statutory provisions contained in the 2013 Act provide for the rehabilitation of manual scavengers, however, the survey, which is the first step in the rehabilitation process, has not been completed yet.
The court directed the state government to file a detailed report and further inform the reasons as to why the survey has not been completed.
The court has also pulled up the government for not rehabilitating the family members of those who lost their lives due to manual scavenging.
