A Nationwide survey, covering 4800+ Urban Local Bodies, has been conducted for identification of Sewer and Septic Tank workers (SSWs) under NAMASTE scheme and not for identification of Manual Scavengers.

According to the information provided by the National Commission for SafaiKaramcharis (NCSK), 471 sanitation workers have lost their lives due to hazardous cleaning of sewer and septic tanks since 2019 (up to 31.10.2025) and full and partial compensation has been paid to the families of 397 and 19 deceased, respectively.

Section 7 of the “Prohibition of Employment as Manual Scavengers and their Rehabilitation Act, 2013” prohibits hazardous cleaning of a Sewer or a Septic Tank.

To tackle hazardous cleaning of Sewer and Septic Tanks, Department of Social Justice and Empowerment in convergence with the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs  launched the “National Action for Mechanised Sanitation Ecosystem (NAMASTE)” Scheme in 2023-24 for implementation in all Urban Local Bodies (ULBs) of the country. The objective is to ensure safety and dignity of Sewer and Septic Tank Workers (SSWs) and to empower them socially and economically.  The aim is also to achieve zero fatality in sanitation work and to ensure that no sanitation worker comes in direct contact with human faecal matter.

Steps taken under NAMASTE scheme to avoid manual entry into sewer and septic tanks and to ensure mechanised cleaning of sewer and septic tanks are as under:-

i. Safety devices to Emergency Response Sanitation Units (ERSUs).

ii.  Upfront Capital Subsidy to sanitation workers and Private Sanitation Service Operators (PSSOs) for procurement of sanitation related machine/equipment.

iii. Occupational Safety training to the sewer and septic tank workers.

iv. Workshops on prevention of hazardous cleaning of sewer and septic tanks.

The Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA) launched Swachh Bharat Mission – Urban (SBM-U) 2.0 on 1st, October, 2021. It includes a new component i.e. Used Water management (UWM) with one of the objectives of eradication of hazardous entry into sewers and septic tanks and elimination of manual cleaning, through mechanization of sewer and septic tank cleaning operations.

Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs has also issued the following advisory for safe cleaning of sewer and septic tanks:-

i. Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) for cleaning of Sewer or Septic tank.

ii. Advisory for technical and managerial interventions for ensuring safety during sewer and septic tank cleaning through Emergency Response Sanitation Unit (ERSU).

iii. Ready Reckoner for Urban Local Bodies (ULBs) for ensuring safety of sanitation workers.

iv. Organising SafaimitraSurakshaShivirs nationwide through ULBs to provide health check-ups and linkages to social welfare schemes.

v. Issued protocol for SafaiMitraSurakshitShehar.

Components of the erstwhile ‘Self-Employment Scheme for the Rehabilitation of Manual Scavengers (SRMS)’ have been subsumed in the NAMASTE scheme in 2023-24 and rehabilitation assistance provided to manual scavengers and their dependents under it is given below:-

SI. No.	Components	Number of Beneficiaries
1	Onetime Cash Assistance	58098 (Full saturation)
2	Skill Development Training	27928
3	Capital Subsidy for self-employment project	2652

 

There is no proposal at present to amend the “Prohibition of Employment as Manual Scavengers and their Rehabilitation Act, 2013 (MS Act, 2013)”.

This information was provided by UNION MINISTER OF STATE FOR SOCIAL JUSTICE AND EMPOWERMENT, SHRI RAMDAS ATHAWALE, in a written reply to a question in Lok Sabha today.

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