Context
Recently, the Government informed Parliament that the 2024–25 nationwide survey identified no manual scavengers. However, 182 sanitation workers died in hazardous sewer and septic-tank cleaning between January 2023 and June 2026, indicating that the two legally distinct problems must not be conflated.
Explanation
- Article 17 abolishes untouchability; manual scavenging is also prohibited by the 2013 Act.
- A manual scavenger manually handles human excreta in an insanitary latrine, open drain, pit or railway track before its complete decomposition.
- Section 7 separately prohibits hazardous manual cleaning of sewers and septic tanks without prescribed protective equipment and safety precautions.
- NAMASTE scheme (National Action for Mechanised Sanitation Ecosystem), launched in 2023, is jointly implemented by the Ministries of Social Justice and Empowerment and Housing and Urban Affairs.
- It promotes mechanisation, training, health insurance, rehabilitation and sanitation-worker entrepreneurship.
La Excellence IAS Academy, the best IAS coaching in Hyderabad, known for delivering quality content and conceptual clarity for UPSC 2026 preparation.
FOLLOW US ON:
◉ YouTube : https://www.youtube.com/@CivilsPrepTeam
◉ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LaExcellenceIAS
◉ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/laexcellenceiasacademy/
GET IN TOUCH:
Contact us at info@laex.in, https://laex.in/contact-us/
or Call us @ +91 9052 29 2929, +91 9052 99 2929, +91 9154 24 2140
OUR BRANCHES:
Head Office: H No: 1-10-225A, Beside AEVA Fertility Center, Ashok Nagar Extension, VV Giri Nagar, Ashok Nagar, Hyderabad, 500020
Madhapur: Flat no: 301, survey no 58-60, Guttala begumpet Madhapur metro pillar: 1524, Rangareddy Hyderabad, Telangana 500081
Bangalore: Plot No: 99, 2nd floor, 80 Feet Road, Beside Poorvika Mobiles, Chandra Layout, Attiguppe, Near Vijaya Nagara, Bengaluru, 560040