Tripti Singh
Centre for Policy Research, Urbanisation, Department Member
- Miranda House, Delhi University, Sociology, UndergraduateMumbai University, Sociology, Graduate Studentadd
In December 2013, the Prohibition of Employment as Manual Scavengers and their Rehabilitation Act (“the Act”) was notified by the Central Government. The Act is a Parliamentary law, binding on all states. While an earlier 1993 law... more
In December 2013, the Prohibition of Employment as Manual Scavengers and their Rehabilitation Act (“the Act”) was notified by the Central Government. The Act is a Parliamentary law, binding on all states. While an earlier 1993 law prohibited the employment of manual scavengers and construction of dry latrines, the strength of the new Act is that it brings hazardous cleaning of sewers and septic tanks under its ambit. This brief focuses on the legal environment for manual cleaning of sewers and septic tanks, a practice that has led to many deaths, most recently in Delhi, the national capital. Drawing on the Act and associated Rules, it examines the existing legal framework, and poses the following questions:
1) What are the circumstances in which manual cleaning of sewers and septic tanks is permissible?
2) How is manual cleaning of sewers and septic tanks to be carried out safely?
3) What are the penal consequences of hazardous cleaning of sewers and septic tanks?
4) Who is responsible for enforcement of the Act?
1) What are the circumstances in which manual cleaning of sewers and septic tanks is permissible?
2) How is manual cleaning of sewers and septic tanks to be carried out safely?
3) What are the penal consequences of hazardous cleaning of sewers and septic tanks?
4) Who is responsible for enforcement of the Act?
Research Interests:
In 2013, the Employment of Manual Scavengers and Construction of Dry Latrines (Prohibition) Act, 1993.was ostensibly amended to include all those who worked without adequate physical safety protection and through direct human contact to... more
In 2013, the Employment of Manual Scavengers and Construction of Dry Latrines (Prohibition) Act, 1993.was ostensibly amended to include all those who worked without adequate physical safety protection and through direct human contact to manually clean human faecal waste. The resulting legislation, Prohibition of Employment as Manual Scavengers and their Rehabilitation Act, 2013 was expected to be a game-changer. It expanded the definition from simply the manual carrying of human excreta, to all sewerage and septage workers who may, without adequate protection and safety gear, come into direct physical contact with human faeces. This literature review is part of a larger effort to understand manual scavenging as a typology of sanitation-based activities and choices rather than the traditional focus of just caste-based social injustice faced by manual scavengers.
Research Interests:
This report explores the opportunities for investment in sanitation by the private sector, and it profiles 16 initiatives currently being undertaken for the provision of sanitation services and infrastructure, either through corporate... more
This report explores the opportunities for investment in sanitation by the private sector, and it profiles 16 initiatives currently being undertaken for the provision of sanitation services and infrastructure, either through corporate social responsibility (CSR) funding, public private partnership (PPP), or independent corporate funding