92% of workers cleaning urban sewers, septic tanks belong to SC, ST, OBC groups, finds survey

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Last Updated01/10/2024

91.9% of the 38,000 workers profiled so far belong to Scheduled Caste (SC), Scheduled Tribe (ST), or other backward class (OBC) communities.

In a landmark effort to count workers involved in hazardous sewer and septic tank cleaning, the Indian government has collected data from over 3,000 urban local bodies across 29 States and Union Territories.
The data reveals that 91.9% of the 38,000 workers profiled so far belong to Scheduled Caste (SC), Scheduled Tribe (ST), or Other Backward Class (OBC) communities. Specifically, 68.9% are SC, 14.7% are OBC, and 8.3% are ST.

Between 2019 and 2023, 377 people across the country lost their lives due to hazardous cleaning of sewers and septic tanks, as per data presented in Parliament.

The Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment launched the NAMASTE programme, replacing the Self-Employment Scheme for Rehabilitation of Manual Scavengers (SRMS), to mechanize sewer work and prevent deaths.
Unlike manual scavenging, hazardous cleaning refers to tasks performed under unsafe conditions, such as sewer and septic tank cleaning.
The programme targets workers directly involved in sewer cleaning, such as drivers, machine operators, and helpers, with the aim of creating "sanipreneurs" by offering training, safety equipment, and capital subsidies.

As of now, 3,326 urban local bodies (ULBs) have participated in the programme, profiling around 38,000 Sewer and Septic Tank Workers (SSWs). Notably, 283 ULBs reported zero SSWs, while 2,364 ULBs reported fewer than 10 workers each.
The Ministry estimates that there are approximately one lakh SSWs in India, and the NAMASTE programme aims to profile all of them for a central database.

Twelve States, including Kerala, Rajasthan, and Jammu and Kashmir, have completed the profiling process. In contrast, states like Andhra Pradesh and Bihar are still in progress, and some states, like Chhattisgarh and West Bengal, have yet to begin.
States like Tamil Nadu and Odisha have opted for their own programmes instead of reporting data to the Centre.

As per the Ministry’s annual report for 2023-24, 31,999 workers have been validated so far. Additionally, ₹2.26 crore in capital subsidies has been provided to 191 workers and their dependants for alternative employment, and ₹10.6 crore has been disbursed to 413 sanitation workers for sanitation-related projects.

Under the previous Self-Employment Scheme for Rehabilitation of Manual Scavengers (SRMS), 58,098 manual scavengers were identified until 2018.
The government insists no new manual scavengers have been identified since, despite 6,500+ complaints. Most of these workers, 97.2%, were from SC communities.
All identified workers received a one-time cash transfer of ₹40,000, and some opted for skills training or loans to start alternative businesses.