New Delhi, Nov 28 (PTI) A total of 1,248 people have died while cleaning sewers and septic tanks in the country since 1993, the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment told Parliament on Thursday.
According to official data shared by Minister of State for Social Justice and Empowerment Ramdas Athawale in the Rajya Sabha, Tamil Nadu reported the highest number of deaths at 253, followed by Gujarat at 183, Uttar Pradesh at 133 and Delhi at 116.
Responding to another question, Athawale said there had been no death due to manual scavenging, which involves recovering human waste from unhygienic latrines.
Pointing out that no person or authority can legally engage or employ anyone to carry out manual scavenging, the minister said in a written reply: “Any person or authority who engages any person in contravention of the provisions of the MS Act, 2013 manual cleaning shall be punished under Section 8 of the Act with imprisonment for a term which may extend to two years or with a fine which may extend to Rs 1 lakh or with both.”
No report has been received from the districts on the practice of manual cleaning, he added.
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