Manual scavenging has been banned in India since 1993 and is currently prohibited under the ‘The Prohibition of Employment as Manual Scavengers and their Rehabilitation Act, 2013’ (the ‘Act’). The Act mandates the provision of safety equipment and gear for workers engaged in hazardous cleaning, and also a shift towards mechanization of cleaning septic tanks, sewers, and other spaces. This blog post delves into the lack of provision of safety equipment and traces the progress of complete mechanization while focusing on certain schemes of the Government, to enable the eradication of manual scavenging.
On 11th September 2021, the Centre for Law and Policy Research (CLPR) organised a legal training workshop for lawyers in Telangana on the Prohibition of Employment as Manual Scavengers and their Rehabilitation Act, 2013 (“PEMSRA”).
The Prohibition of Employment as Manual Scavengers and their Rehabilitation Act, 2013 (‘Act’) bans manual scavenging in India. It casts stringent penalties for violation of the Act and provides for rehabilitation and compensation of manual scavengers. Even though manual scavenging is outlawed, it seems to be on a rise, especially in Tamil Nadu.
On 27 February 2021, the Centre for Law and Policy Research in collaboration with Thamate –…
