The Karnataka Supreme Court has made it clear to the state government that from now on, cleaning up across the state should only be done with the help and support of the equipment set out in the Manual Scavenger Prohibition Regulations and its Rehabilitation Act. 2013.
The court also ordered the government to provide details of the equipment provided under the 2013 Act, its availability with local authorities and the reason for the unavailability, as the local authorities must have the necessary equipment in accordance with the regulations. A division bank made up of Judge Satish Chandra Sharma and Judge Sachin Shankar Magadum issued the instructions Monday when they heard two separate PIL petitions filed by the Karnataka State Legal Services Authority and the All India Central Council of Trade Unions and themselves Complained about the non-implementation of the law’s ban on manual cleaning in Karnataka. “It is made clear that in the future there will be no more manual cleanups in the state that disregard the legal provisions of the law and the regulations of 2013,” noted Bench.
The 2013 regulations list about 40 types of protective equipment and devices that must be made available to those involved in sewer / septic tank cleaning. They also mandate 14 types of equipment and machinery that local authorities should have for them. In its decision of December 2020, the court found that the 2013 regulations had hardly been implemented in the state.
Regarding the two deaths of some people while manually cleaning manholes in Kalaburagi (January) and Ramanagaram (June), the bank ordered the deputy commissioners of both districts to be present in court during the next hearing on October 4 for the omission the local authorities to enforce the provisions of the 2013 Law relating to the identification and rehabilitation of manual scavengers.
The deputy commissioners are not required to show up when they submit a report on compliance with manual scavengers cleanup, the bank said.
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