On June 17, 2025 the Centre for Law and Policy Research organized a “Know Your Rights and Entitlements Session” with a focus on the Prevention of Atrocities Act of 1989. This event took place at the Patrakarthara Bhavana in Kolar and aimed to educate paralegal volunteers, activists, and individuals from the SC/ST community about the law’s provisions, the challenges in its implementation, and its vital role in protecting the rights of Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe victims of caste-based violence. The agenda for the day was structured into two main sessions: the first session covered essential definitions and key provisions of the Act, while the second session delved into the difficulties faced in implementing the SC/ST (POA) Act, 1989.
The National Conclave on Implementation and Challenges PEMSRA Act, 2013, held on February 19-20, 2025, in NLSIU Bangalore and jointly organized by Saifaikarmachari Kavalu Samithi-Karnataka (SKKS), National Law School of India University (NLSIU), Thamate, Sakhi Trust, and the Centre for Law and Policy Research (CLPR). The event brought together key stakeholders, legal experts, policymakers, and community representatives to discuss the continued failures in enforcement, the systematic neglect of manual scavengers, and the urgent need for comprehensive rehabilitation and social justice measures.
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 –…
