The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has issued an advisory to the Centre, States and UTs for protecting the rights of persons engaged in manual scavenging or hazardous cleaning.
The NHRC headed by Justice Arun Kumar Mishra has issued an Advisory to the Centre and the State Governments in which the Commission calls for fixing responsibility and accountability of local authority and contractor or employer, jointly and severally in case of any death that occurs due to manual scavenging including hazardous cleaning.
In addition to this, the Commission has also advised to treat sanitary workers as frontline health workers for all purposes and made several recommendations to provide security cover and ensuring protection of human rights of persons engaged in manual scavenging and hazardous cleaning.
The Commission, in a letter through its Secretary-General, Bimbadhar Pradhan to the Secretaries of concerned union ministries/departments and chief secretaries of states and administrators of union territories, has asked for the implementation of its recommendations in the Advisory and sought Action Taken Report within three months.
The union ministries include Social Justice and Empowerment, Housing and Urban Affairs and the National Commission for Safai Karamcharis.
The advisory has focused on various key areas which include ensuring proper safety gear for sanitary workers, use of technology, the responsibility of hiring agencies/employers and concerned authorities, strengthening the infrastructure for providing sanitary services, awareness, sensitization, ensuring access to justice and rehabilitation of manual scavengers.
Some of the important recommendations, among others, are to provide helmets, safety jackets, gloves, masks, gumboots, safety glasses, torchlight along with an oxygen cylinder to all sanitary workers entering or cleaning septic tanks or sewer lines.
The advisory also recommended the use of duly acknowledged and recognized technological equipment e.g., Bandicoot, Swere Crocs, KAMJET GR, Mobile Septage Treatment Unit (MSU), etc.
"A nationwide database to be put in place for rehabilitated and trained or skilled manual scavengers for providing required assistance; monitoring of the implementation of the PEMSR Act, 2013 and ensuring proper identification of persons engaged in manual scavenging," then Commission recommended in the advisory.
It said that all officials in concerned departments at the Centre, state and local bodies to be sensitized and measures to sensitize public to be taken.
( With inputs from ANI )
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