AMEND THE MANUAL FLUSHING ACT to make machine cleaning of sewers and septic tanks mandatory. Replace the word “manhole” in official usage with “machine hole” and set up a national 24-hour hotline to report violations.
These are some of the key measures the government is putting in place to prevent manual flushing across the country by August 2021, according to senior officials.
As part of this initiative, the government launched a “challenge” on Thursday for all states to make sewer cleaning mechanized by April 2021 – if a person has to enter a sewer in the event of an unavoidable emergency, suitable equipment and oxygen tanks; etc. are to be provided.
The challenge features prize pools in various categories totaling 52 rupees. “The actual on-site assessment of participating cities will be carried out by an independent agency in May 2021 and the results will be announced on August 15, 2021,” said Durga Shanker Mishra, secretary of the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs.
Official records show that manual cleanup has resulted in 376 deaths over the past five years, including 110 in 2019 alone – a jump of 61 percent from 2018.
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“We have ordered that the word manhole should no longer be used and only machine hole should be used from now on,” said Mishra.
The Department is also working with MTNL to establish a national 24-hour helpline number on which such cases can be reported.
Speaking of the challenge, officials said city governments, state capitals and smart cities are eligible to participate. They said the 243 eligible cities are divided into three sub-categories based on their population: up to 3 lakh, 3-10 lakh, and over 10 lakh with prices ranging from 8 to 12 rupees.
Given that the Swachh Bharat Mission has been given priority by the 15th Finance Commission and funds are available for smart cities and urban development, Union Housing and Urban Development Minister Hardeep Puri said the money will go towards the conversion machine cleaning is not required.
The Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, meanwhile, has decided to provide funds directly to workers to buy cleaning machines instead of giving money to contractors or local authorities, said R Subrahmanyam, secretary of the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment.
Employing or requiring people to manually clean drains, sewage tanks, and septic tanks is a criminal offense punishable by imprisonment and a fine under the Manual Flushing Act 2013. According to legal regulations, manual scavengers must be identified and rehabilitated.
However, the problem persists in urban areas, Subrahmanyam said. “The change in the law will make machine cleaning mandatory. It shouldn’t be optional … some communities like Hyderabad etc have done a wonderful job of mechanizing the system. But it shouldn’t be a proven method, it has to be the only one, ”he said.
According to an assessment by the Ministry of Social Justice, despite the Manual Cleanup and Atrocity Prevention Act of 1989, FIRs are rarely placed in deaths caused by the practice, convictions are rare, and the Supreme Court-mandated compensation of Rs 10 lakh are not paid in all cases.
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