Skip to main content

Changes in manual scavengers Act seeks only technical solutions, 'has no rehab plan'

Counterview Desk

An open letter distributed by the Dalits Media Watch, which networks news related to underprivileged sections on the proposed amendments to the Prohibition of Engagement as Manual Scavengers and their Rehabilitation (PEMSR) Act, has regretted that it completely ignores to identify and rehabilitate the workers who had been forced by caste-based Indian society to engage in manual scavenging. 
Proposed to be sent to all members of Parliament (MPs) after seeking signatures from concerned citizens, the letter says, the amendment confines itself on “technological solutions” by talking about “complete mechanization of sewer cleaning and to provide better protection in work, the compensation in case of accidents”, ignoring “the lives and demands of workers.”

Text:

We the undersigned are writing to you to express our extreme concern over amendments being made to the Prohibition of Employment as Manual Scavengers and their Rehabilitation Act 2013 (PEMSR Act 2013) without any form of public consultation.
‘The Prohibition of Employment as Manual Scavengers and their Rehabilitation (Amendment) Bill, 2020’ has been listed by the Government in the list of new Bills proposed to be introduced during the on-going session of the Parliament. The Bill seeks to amend the existing Act which was brought in 2013 to put an end to the undignified caste-based practice of manual scavenging.
It is of particular concern to us that the existing Act has not only failed to put a stop to the daily occurrence of manual scavenging, but it has not even been able to curb even the most disastrous consequences of this inhuman practice in the form of death due to manual scavenging. Another stark failure of the Act has been in the near complete failure in identifying and rehabilitating those engaged in this occupation.
In light of such failures, there is a definite need to make suitable amendments to the existing Act. But unfortunately, the government has chosen to undertake this necessary process in a completely non-consultative and non-transparent manner. The text of the proposed Bill was not put in public domain and no comments have been sought from the public.
A document published by the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment on its website in March offers no analysis of the reasons for failure of the Act. The changes suggested in the Act as part of this document mainly focus on the technological aspects of the problem, completely ignoring the imperative to identify and rehabilitate those workers who had been forced by caste-based Indian society to engage in this undignified occupation. 
Amendments to prohibition of manual scavenging and their rehabilitation Act, 2013  are being sought without any public consultation
In the legislative agenda, the purport of the amendment Bill is listed as ‘complete mechanization of sewer cleaning and to provide better protection in work, the compensation in case of accidents’. The absence of any reference to the lives and demands of the workers suggests that even the proposed Bill may be narrowly focused on technological solutions.
Any process of reform in the law should necessarily begin with the workers engaged in this occupation and the proposed changes should be available in all Indian languages to enable full democratic participation from all citizens. Public consultation processes would have offered a necessary corrective to these and other posing lacunae in the amendment Bill.
Several groups have been working on different aspects of manual scavenging. Their inputs, based on their own experiences and interactions with workers, over the last several years, would strengthen and add value to the process of amending the Bill. It is also keeping with the process of consultation.
Hence, we urge you, as representatives of the people of the country, to demand that this amendment Bill be either sent back to the Ministry for public consultation or be referred to the Department-related Parliamentary Standing Committee, so that we the people get an opportunity, based upon our grassroots experience, to enrich the Amendment Bill with the much-needed but missing concepts and provisions.

Comments

TRENDING

Campaign group urges INDIA alliance to release Jharkhand manifesto to counter BJP’s 'divisive' agenda

By Our Representative  The Loktantra Bachao Abhiyan, an advocacy group, has issued a press release urging the INDIA alliance to release a Jharkhand-specific manifesto to counter the BJP’s "divisive" electoral agenda. With just two weeks remaining before the assembly elections, the INDIA coalition has yet to announce its plans and priorities for the state. Meanwhile, the BJP's campaign, according to the press release, is centered around communalism, divisiveness, and distraction from Jharkhand's core issues.

Tributes paid to pioneer of Naxalism in Punjab, who 'dodged' police for 60 yrs

By Harsh Thakor*  Jagjit Singh Sohal, known as Comrade Sharma, a pioneer of Naxalism in Punjab, passed away on October 20 at the age of 96. Committed to the Naxalite cause and a prominent Maoist leader, Sohal, who succeeded Charu Majumdar, played hide and seek with the police for almost six decades. He was cremated in Patiala.

Israel's 'war crime': 18,000 children died not just from bomb explosions but also starvation

By Sandeep Pandey*  Last year 6 years old Madiha was a guest during Diwali at our home in Lucknow. Listening to the sound of fire crackers bursting outside she remarked, ‘It appears as if we’re in Gaza.’ She has probably no idea of the extent of damage and loss of life that has taken place in Palestine but can relate to sound of crackers as bombs exploding over Gaza.

Swami Vivekananda's views on caste and sexuality were 'painfully' regressive

By Bhaskar Sur* Swami Vivekananda now belongs more to the modern Hindu mythology than reality. It makes a daunting job to discover the real human being who knew unemployment, humiliation of losing a teaching job for 'incompetence', longed in vain for the bliss of a happy conjugal life only to suffer the consequent frustration.

Will Left victory in Sri Lanka deliver economic sovereignty plan, go beyond 'tired' IMF agenda?

By Atul Chandra, Vijay Prashad*  On September 22, 2024, the Sri Lankan election authority announced that Anura Kumara Dissanayake of the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP)-led National People’s Power (NPP) alliance won the presidential election. Dissanayake, who has been the leader of the left-wing JVP since 2014, defeated 37 other candidates, including the incumbent president Ranil Wickremesinghe of the United National Party (UNP) and his closest challenger Sajith Premadasa of the Samagi Jana Balawegaya. 

Will Bangladesh go Egypt way, where military ruler is in power for a decade?

By Vijay Prashad*  The day after former Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina left Dhaka, I was on the phone with a friend who had spent some time on the streets that day. He told me about the atmosphere in Dhaka, how people with little previous political experience had joined in the large protests alongside the students—who seemed to be leading the agitation. I asked him about the political infrastructure of the students and about their political orientation. He said that the protests seemed well-organized and that the students had escalated their demands from an end to certain quotas for government jobs to an end to the government of Sheikh Hasina. Even hours before she left the country, it did not seem that this would be the outcome.

Bid to isolate India globally 'to drive it even closer' to long-time ally, Russia

By Vidya Bhushan Rawat*  The relationship between India and Canada has plunged to unprecedented lows, with both governments seemingly exploiting the situation for their domestic political gains. Canada has long been home to several anti-India elements, with little action taken against them. When Prime Minister Indira Gandhi was assassinated on October 31, 1984, some of these secessionist groups openly celebrated and issued further threats, particularly from Canada and Britain.  While Britain eventually acted to contain such elements in the interest of maintaining ties with India, Canada did not. Over the years, India has sought the extradition of 23 criminals residing in Canada, but the Canadian government has mostly dismissed these requests, claiming these individuals have no criminal records in their country.

A Hindu alternative to Valentine's Day? 'Shiv-Parvati was first love marriage in Universe'

By Rajiv Shah  The other day, I was searching on Google a quote on Maha Shivratri which I wanted to send to someone, a confirmed Shiv Bhakt, quite close to me -- with an underlying message to act positively instead of being negative. On top of the search, I chanced upon an article in, imagine!, a Nashik Corporation site which offered me something very unusual. 

How pseudo-liberals 'went wrong' in judging DY Chandrachud as Chief Justice India

By Shamsul Islam*  DY Chandrachud took charge as Chief Justice of the Indian Supreme Court (SC) on November 09, 2022. On this occasion many of the pseudo-liberals who claimed to be defenders of the democratic-secular polity of India manifested great happiness. They declared that the time of SC being an appendage of the RSS-BJP government headed by PM Modi was over as Justice Chandrachud was a liberal judge committed to the democratic-secular polity of India.