Human rights, cleaners commissions' bid to eliminate scavenging

The National Human Rights Commission and the National Commission for Safai Karamcharis (Cleaners) have decided to work together to eliminate the obnoxious practice of scavenging in the country.

The two commissions called for a meeting of the federal ministers of welfare, rural development, and urban development to chalk out a joint strategy to widen the role and amalgamate the efforts presently carried out by these agencies, NHRC sources said in New Delhi on Saturday.

Without this kind of a joint strategy, the two commissions felt, the problem cannot be tackled effectively and entirely.

These decisions were arrived at when the chairperson and the members of the National Commission for Safai Karamacharis called on the NHRC in New Delhi on Friday.

The meeting, taking place against the backdrop of the Employment of Manual Scavengers and Construction of Dry Latrines (Prohibition) Act, 1993, coming into force, also called for effective implementation of the act.

The act came into force in six states -- Andhra Pradesh, Goa, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Tripura, and West Bengal and all union territories with effect from January 26 this year largely, due to the crucial role played by the National Human Rights Commission.

Though the legislation was passed by Parliament over three and a half years back, it had remained on the paper till now.

The meeting also decided that as an attempt, a direct intervention, pilot project aimed at rehabilitating the families engaged in manual scavenging through training and motivation and awareness campaigns should be carried out in districts with large concentration of this practice.

The Safai Karamachari Commission will identify the districts as well as the projects and the NHRC will help in implementing them with the active involvement of governmental and non-governmental agencies and others working in this field.

Speaking on the occasion, NHRC Chairperson Justice M N Venkatachaliah said that right to life is a right to life with dignity. Terming manual scavenging and the practice of carrying night-soil by hand grave issues involving human dignity, he said that the commission has been pursuing vigorously the implementation of the Employment of Manual Scavengers and Construction of Dry Latrines (Prohibition) Act, 1993.

In this regard, three meetings were convened during the last six months. The commission had also written to the chief ministers of other states to have an appropriate legislation passed in their state legislatures adopting this act.

M L Arya, chairperson of the National Commission for Safai Karamcharis, said that the National Human Rights Commission could help in monitoring effectively the implementation of the act as also in the rehabilitation of the employees who will be rendered jobless as a result of the act.

He also drew the attention of the NHRC to the on-going strike of safai karamcharis in the state of Haryana and the alleged human rights violations. The NHRC had decided to take up the matter with the Haryana government on receiving complaint from the Safai Karamchari Commission.

UNI