The Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment (MoSJE), under its new NAMASTE programme, has launched the first attempt to profile and address the risks faced by sewer and septic tank workers (SSWs) across India.

Key Findings of the Profiling

• 38,000 workers have been profiled from over 3,000 urban local bodies (ULBs) across 29 States and Union Territories.
• Between 2019 and 2023, 377 people lost their lives while engaged in hazardous cleaning of sewers and septic tanks.
• Social Composition:92% of workers cleaning urban sewers, septic tanks from SC, ST, OBC groups.
  • 68.9% of workers are from Scheduled Caste (SC) communities.
  • 14.7% belong to Other Backward Classes (OBC).
  • 8.3% are from Scheduled Tribes (ST).
  • 8% are from the general category.
• Hazardous Cleaning: The manual handling of human waste and cleaning of sewers and septic tanks continues to claim lives due to unsafe working conditions.
• Manual Scavenging: The practice of manually cleaning human waste is outlawed but persists in hazardous forms.
• Data Gaps: While over 58,000 manual scavengers were identified until 2018 under previous schemes.
  • The government claims no new manual scavengers have been identified since.
  • Claiming that none of the 6,500-plus complaints reporting manual scavenging could be verified. 

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About NAMASTE Programme (National Action for Mechanised Sanitation Ecosystem)

• Objective: To stop deaths of Sewers and Septic Tank Workers (SSWs) and to promote mechanization of cleaning operations with a vision to reduce hazardous cleaning and ensure the safety of sanitation workers.
• Launched: NAMASTE Scheme was launched in 2022 as a Central Sector Scheme.
• Replaced by: The scheme has replaced the Self-Employment Scheme for the Rehabilitation of Manual Scavengers (SRMS), which was started in 2007.
• Coverage: The scheme is to be implemented in all 4800+ Urban Local Bodies (ULBs) of the country, during the three years up to 2025-26.

Features of NAMASTE Programme

• Profiling of Sewer/Septic Tank Workers (SSWs): NAMASTE scheme envisages profiling of the Sewer/Septic Tank Workers (SSWs). List of SSWs would be obtained from the concerned ULBs and thereafter detailed profiling of the SSWs would be undertaken through profiling camps.
• Distribution of Safety Kits: Occupational Safety Training and distribution of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) Kits to SSWs
• Assistance to Manual Scavengers: Assistance for Safety Devices to Sanitation Response Units (SRUs) for hazardous cleaning operations.
• Extending Health Insurance Scheme Benefits: For providing a safety net to identified SSWs and their families, they will be covered under the Ayushman Bharat- Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB-PMJAY).
  • The premium for AB-PMJAY for those identified Manual scavengers and SSWs families who are not covered earlier shall be borne under NAMASTE.
• Livelihood Assistance: The Action Plan will promote mechanization and enterprise development. 
• Providing Capital Subsidy: National Safai Karamcharis Finance & Development Corporation (NSKFDC) will provide funding support and capital subsidy to the Manual Scavengers to procure sanitation related equipment and vehicles under Swachhata Udyami Yojana (SUY) 
• Convergence of Programmes of MoSJE & MoHUA: The safety of SSWs is a joint responsibility of MoSJE and MoHUA. 
  • The Action Plan leverages the available financial allocations of existing SRMS, Swachh Bharat Missions (SBM), Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana-National Urban.

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