SafaiMitra Suraksha Challenge
Context
- MoHUA launched a week long awareness campaign on SafaiMitra Suraksha Challenge (SSC) from November 14- 20 to run up to the ‘Swachh Amrit Diwas’.
- 246 cities are participating in this challenge.
- It aims to encourage cities to mechanise their sewer and septic tank cleaning operations in order to prevent deaths and fatalities of sanitation workers from ‘hazardous entry’.
World Toilet Day
- UNGA in 2013 officially designated 19th November as World Toilet Day.
- It is coordinated by UN-Water.
- It aims to break the stigma around sanitation .
- Theme- about valuing toilets.
Swachh Amrit Diwas
- It is an award ceremony to recognize the role and efforts of the states, cities, ULBs (Urban Local Bodies) and Cantonment Boards in Swachh Survekshan 2021, and Garbage Free Star Rating certification on 20th November 2021.
About SafaiMitra Suraksha Challenge :
- The initiative is in line with the core of the Swachh Bharat Mission-Urban (SBM-U) and was launched as part of the ‘World Toilet Day’ (19th November) celebrations.
- Cities will be awarded under three sub-categories based on population: up to 3 lakh, 3-10 lakh and over 10 lakh.
- Under the SSC campaign several initiatives have been undertaken like Loan Melas across the country to help Safaimitras avail loans under the Swachhata Udyami Yojana (SUY) for procurement of sewer/ septic tank cleaning machine/ equipment for mechanized cleaning.
- Under Safaimitra Suraksha Challenge (SSC), Call Centre and Helpline number for safe cleaning have been operationalized in 345 cities.
- MoHUA has also designed standard uniform designs for different categories of sanitation workers across urban India. These include Swachhata Commandos (sanitation workers engaged in underground cleaning of sewers and septic tanks), Safaimitras (engaged in road sweeping and waste collection) and Swachhata Supervisors/ Operators.
Manual Scavenging
- It is defined as removal of human excrement from public streets and dry latrines, cleaning septic tanks, gutters and sewers.
Need
- Official records show that manual scavenging has led to 376 deaths over the past five year (highest in 2019).
- Despite the introduction of several mechanised systems for sewage cleaning, human intervention in the process still continues.
- As per data collected in 2018, 29,923 people are engaged in manual scavenging in Uttar Pradesh, making it the highest in any State in India.
Reasons for the Prevalence of Manual Scavenging:
- Indifferent Attitude: A number of independent surveys have mentioned about continued reluctance on the part of state governments to admit that the practice prevails under their watch.
- Issue due to Outsourcing: Many times local bodies outsource sewer cleaning tasks to fly-by-night private contractors who do not maintain proper rolls of sanitation workers.
- Social Issue: The practice is driven by caste, class and income divides linked to India’s caste system where so-called lower castes are expected to perform manual scavenging.
Initiatives and intervantions:
- Employment of Manual Scavengers and Construction of Dry Latrines (Prohibition) Act, 1993, banned employment of people as manual scavengers.
- Prohibition of Employment as Manual Scavengers and their Rehabilitation Act, 2013 that bans manual scavenging in all forms, provides for their survey and rehabilitation within a time bound manner.
- Establishment of National Commission for Safai Karamcharis to look into matters concerning the Safai Karamcharis welfare.
- In 2014, a Supreme Court order made it mandatory for the government to identify all those who died in sewage work since 1993 and provide Rs. 10 lakh each as compensation to their families.
- In 1989, the Prevention of Atrocities Act became an integrated guard for sanitation workers; more than 90% people employed as manual scavengers belonged to the Scheduled Caste.