EXPLORING THE PLIGHT OF MANUAL SCAVENGERS: A RESEARCH STUDY ON THE CHALLENGES AND SUFFERING FACED BY SANITATION WORKERS IN INDIA

Manual scavengers succumbed to various perils including social exclusion, occupational health hazards, untouchability, etc. The author intends to link the ‘Practice of Manual Scavengers’ with poor implementation of existing legislation by elucidating how the plethora of legislation enacted for ensuring an equitable society has failed to purport what it objects to. The research raises concerns about the persistent dire living conditions of scavenging communities in India, even 73 years after gaining independence. The hypothesis posits that although the government of India has enacted two major legislations, namely the Acts of 1993 and 2013, to ban this inhuman practice, it has still persisted. As per the Socio-Economic and Caste Census 2011, manual scavenging was still prevalent in 2011, with 1.8 lakh Indian households relying on this practice for survival. Maharashtra had the highest number of manual scavengers, followed by Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Tripura, and Karnataka. The current crime is due to the prevailing caste system succumbing the manual scavenger community to an unrecognized misery. The article, therefore, purports to unveil the genesis of manual scavenging and similar practices. The paper also analyses the current statutory framework, judicial pronouncements, and administrative schemes in relation to the Act. It pinpoints the existing lacunas providing remedial measures and progressive solutions to ban the same. In a nutshell, the research article shall critically analyze the rights of the manual scavengers with reference to the failure of the state to ensure the same and how the state instrumentalities play a major role as a human rights violator.