NHRC slaps notice on UP over plight of manual scavengers

Transcription

1 The Indian Express NHRC slaps notice on UP over plight of manual scavengers Meerut is almost a part of the National Capital Region, the NHRC noted and said if this is the picture of an area not very far from the national capital then one can imagine the scenario in other parts of the country. By: IANS Lucknow/new Delhi Published:June 16, :26 pm Taking suo motu cognizance of a media report about the plight of manual scavengers, including 30 women in Meerut district of Uttar Pradesh, the NHRC on Friday slapped a notice on the state government and sought an explanation on the matter within six weeks. Considering it as the worst example of violation of right to life, dignity, equality and health care, the rights panel has issued notices, returnable within six weeks, to the Secretary, Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, Government of India, and the Uttar Pradesh Chief Secretary. It has also called for a detailed report on the matter along with the steps taken or proposed to be taken to deal with the situation along with measures for the relief and rehabilitation of the victims. The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has observed that in a civilized society, where the government has passed laws like Prohibition of Employment as Manual Scavengers and their Rehabilitation Act, Untouchability Offence Act and the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Caste (PoA) Act, the women of a vulnerable Dalit community are still not able to get rid of the slur of carrying human excreta on their heads. Meerut is almost a part of the National Capital Region, the NHRC noted and said if this is the picture of an area not very far from the national capital then one can imagine the scenario in other parts of the country. Narrating the plight of 30 women manual scavengers in Radhna Inayatpur village of Mawana in Meerut district, of whom many have grown old doing this work, the media report says that they are paid as little as between Rs every month per household to clean the dry latrines and sometimes, as a bonus, they are given stale leftover food and worn-out clothes.

2 NHRC issues notices to Centre, UP over manual scavenging Last Updated: 16th June :56 PM NEW DELHI: The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has issued notices to the Centre and the Uttar Pradesh governments taking into account the reported plight of manual scavengers across the nation on Friday. The notices were sent after the NHRC took suo-moto cognisance of a recent media report capping the figures of identified scavengers to be 12,737 spread across 13 states and Union Territories till January, this year. NHRC has asked for a detailed report within six weeks in the matter along with an action plan for the relief and rehabilitation of the victims. The report further stated that around 30 women manual scavengers in the Radhna Inayatpur village of Mawanaa in Meerut district, are paid a menial sum between ten and fifty rupees every month, per household to clean dry latrines with leftover stale food sometimes given as bonus. The Commission has observed that in a civilized society that has passed instrumental legislations in the past to annihilate such deprivations, the women of a vulnerable Dalit community are not able to liberate themselves from the scourge of carrying human excreta on their heads. Reportedly, the NDA government s pet project Swachh Bharat Abhiyan has rather been a pipedream for the scavengers with nil budgetary allocation for construction of sewer lines to deal with the excreta. The National Commission for Scheduled Caste s findings reflect that the expenditure on the loans for the rehabilitation of manual scavengers in the last three years has been negligible. With little done for identification and easy extension of credit facilities to scavengers, the community s woes have increased manifold in the recent past.

3 The Times of India city NHRC notice to Centre, UP on plight of manual scavengers Ishita Bhatia TNN Jun 16, 2017, PM IST Meerut: The National Human Rights Commission has issued notices to the Central as well as the UP government about the plight of manual scavengers, some 12,737 of them who have been identified in 13 states and Union Territories till January, The notices were issued as the NHRC took suo motu cognizance of media reports. Considering it "the worst example of violation of right to life, dignity, equality and health care", the Commission issued notices to the secretary, ministry of social justice and empowerment; the Centre, and chief secretary, Uttar Pradesh, and called for a detailed report in the matter along with steps taken or proposed to be taken to deal with the situation along with measures for relief and rehabilitation of the victims. The Commission has observed that in a civilized society, where the government has passed laws like Prohibition of Employment as Manual Scavengers and their Rehabilitation Act, Untouchability Offence Act and the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocity) Act, the women of a vulnerable Dalit community are still not able to get rid of the slur of carrying human excreta on their heads. The district Meerut is almost a part of the National Capital Region. If this is the picture of an area not very far from the national capital, one can imagine the scenario in the other parts of the country. Narrating the plight of the 30 women manual scavengers in Radhna Inayatpur village of Mawana in the district, of whom many have grown old doing this work, the media report, carried on the 15th June, 2017, says that they are paid as little as between Rs 10 and Rs 50 every month, per household to clean the dry latrines and sometimes, as a bonus, they are given stale leftover food and worn-out clothes, NHRC said. The 'Prohibition of Employment as Manual Scavengers, 2013' law bans manual cleaning of night soil, septic tanks and sewers. In 2014, the Supreme Court ordered the government to take swift measures to end the system. However, according to the socio-economic census 2011, India has 1.8 lakh manual scavengers. Inexplicably, surveys done by states throw up a significantly lower figure of 12,226. Ironically, the NDA government has committed Rs 1.34 trillion for the Swachh Bharat campaign, one of the largest commitments yet for sanitation in the country. NHRC also pointed out that due to exposure to filth, most of them have multiple health issues such as vomiting, constant headache, skin and respiratory diseases, trachoma, anemia, carbon monoxide poisoning and diarrhea, including infections like leptospirosis, hepatitis and helicobacter.

4 The Times of India city NHRC notices to Centre and UP govt on manual scavengers Jun 16, 2017, PM IST LUCKNOW: The National Human Rights Commission has taken suo motu cognizance of a media report about the plight of manual scavengers including 30 women in Meerut district of Uttar Pradesh and overall 12,737 identified in 13 states and union territories till January, Considering it as the worst example of violation of right to life, dignity, equality and health care, the Commission has issued notices, returnable within six weeks, to the ministry of social justice and empowerment and the chief secretary of the Uttar Pradesh government, calling for a detailed report in the matter along with the steps taken/proposed to be taken to deal with the situation along with measure for the relief and rehabilitation of the victims. The Commission has observed that in a civilized society, where the government has passed laws like Prohibition of Employment as Manual Scavengers and their Rehabilitation Act, Untouchability Offence Act and the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Caste (PoA) Act, the women of a vulnerable Dalit community are still not able to get rid of the slur of carrying human excreta on their heads. The district Meerut is almost a part of the National Capital Region. If this is the picture of an area not very far from the Nation capital, one can imagine the scenario in the other parts of the country. Narrating the plight of the 30 women manual scavengers in Radhna Inayatpur village of Mawana in the district, of whom many have grown old doing this work, the media report, carried on the June, 15, 2017, says that they are paid as little as between Rs every month per household to clean the dry toilets and sometimes, as a bonus, given stale food and worn-out clothes. Due to exposure to filth, most of them have multiple health issues such as vomiting, constant headache, skin and respiratory diseases, trachoma, anemia, carbon monoxide poisoning and diarrhea including infections like Leptospirosis, Hepatitis and Helicobacter. To avoid the stench, they often smoke beedis. One of the women has contracted tuberculosis forcing her to stop working as a manual scavenger. The central government has announced the Swach Bharat Mission to construct over 12 crore toilets in rural parts of the country. However, the project hardly gives a thought to the workers who will be required to clean these toilets. There is no budgetary allocation under the scheme to construct sewer lines to deal with the excreta.

5 Reportedly, The National Safai Karamcharis Finance and Development Corporation (NSKFDC) constituted by the government, grants Rs 40,000 to the liberated manual scavengers, which they can withdraw in monthly installments of not more than Rs 7,000. The process of rehabilitation of women manual scavengers is also gendered because all the rehabilitation schemes are aimed at male breadwinners. According to the media report, the National Commission for Scheduled Caste has observed that the expenditure on the loans for the rehabilitation of manual scavengers in the last three years is negligible. The identification of manual scavengers is done by the village pradhans. Many times, leaders name their family members to get the loan. Sometimes they just fail to identify all the manual scavengers in their area. Reportedly, the process of getting loans has also become difficult as the banks do not trust the community for loans.

6 NHRC notice to Centre, UP over plight of manual scavengers Press Trust of India New Delhi June 16, 2017 Last Updated at 21:28 IST Terming manual scavengingg as the "worst example" of violation of right to life, the NHRC has issued notices to the Centre and the Uttar Pradesh government over reports of the plight of people employed in such jobs in the country, including 30 women in Meerut. Taking suo motu cognisance, the National Human Rights Commission has issued notices to the secretary, Union Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment and the chief secretary of Uttar Pradesh. The commission today said it has sought, within six weeks, a detailed report in the matter along with the steps taken or proposed to be taken to deal with the situation and measures employed for relief and rehabilitation of such victims. "Narrating the plight of the 30 women manual scavengers in Radhna Inayatpur village of Mawana in the district (Meerut), of whom many have grown old doing this work, the media report, carried on June 15, says that they are paid as little as between Rs 10 and Rs 50 per month, per household to clean the dry latrines and sometimes, as a bonus, they are given stale leftover food and worn-out clothes," the NHRC said. Due to exposure to filth, most of them have multiple health issues, such as vomiting, constant headache, skin and respiratory diseases, trachoma, anaemia, carbon monoxide poisoning and diarrhoea, including infections like leptospirosis, hepatitis and helicobacter, the commission observed. "To avoid the stench, they often smoke beedis. One of the women has contracted tuberculosis, forcing her to stop working as a manual scavenger. The worst happens during rainy season, when the excreta slip from the basket on their hair and shoulders," the NHRC said, recounting the inhuman condition they suffer. The commission goes on to observe that "The district Meerut is almost a part of the national capital region. If this is the picture of an area not very far from the national capital, one can imagine the scenario in the other parts of the country." The news report further says that the Union Social Justice and Empowerment minister, on March 16 had admitted, in response to a Parliament question that "13 states and union territories reported identification of 12,737 manual scavengers till January 2017," the NHRC said.

7 The central government has announced the Swachh Bharat Mission to construct over 12 crore toilets in rural parts of the country. "However, the project hardly gives a thought to the workers who will be required to clean these toilets. There is no budgetary allocation under the scheme to construct sewer lines to deal with the excreta," it observed. Considering it as the "worst example" of violation of right to life, dignity, equality and health care, the NHRC observed that in a civilised society, where the government has passed laws like Prohibition of Employment as Manual Scavengers and their Rehabilitation Act, Untouchability Offence Act and the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Caste (PoA) Act, the women of a vulnerable Dalit community are still not able to get rid of the slur of carrying human excreta on their heads. Reportedly, the National Safai Karamcharis Finance and Development Corporation (NSKFDC) constituted by the government, grants Rs 40,000 to liberated manual scavengers, which they can withdraw in monthly instalments of not more than Rs 7,000. "The process of rehabilitation of women manual scavengers is also gendered because all the rehabilitation schemes are aimed at male breadwinners," the commission said, quoting from the reports. According to a media report, the National Commission for Scheduled Caste has observed that the expenditure on loans for rehabilitation of manual scavengers in the last three years is "negligible". "The identification of manual scavengers is done by the village pradhans," it added. "Many a times, several leaders name their family members to get the loan. Sometimes, they just fail to identify all the manual scavengers in their area. Reportedly, the process of getting loans has also become difficult as the banks do not trust the community for loans," the commission observed.

8 Indiatoday.in NHRC notice to Centre, UP over plight of manual scavengers June 16, 2017 New Delhi, Jun 16 (PTI) Terming manual scavenging as the "worst example" of violation of right to life, the NHRC has issued notices to the Centre and the Uttar Pradesh government over reports of the plight of people employed in such jobs in the country, including 30 women in Meerut. Taking suo motu cognisance, the National Human Rights Commission has issued notices to the secretary, Union Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment and the chief secretary of Uttar Pradesh. The commission today said it has sought, within six weeks, a detailed report in the matter along with the steps taken or proposed to be taken to deal with the situation and measures employed for relief and rehabilitation of such victims. "Narrating the plight of the 30 women manual scavengers in Radhna Inayatpur village of Mawana in the district (Meerut), of whom many have grown old doing this work, the media report, carried on June 15, says that they are paid as little as between Rs 10 and Rs 50 per month, per household to clean the dry latrines and sometimes, as a bonus, they are given stale leftover food and worn-out clothes," the NHRC said. Due to exposure to filth, most of them have multiple health issues, such as vomiting, constant headache, skin and respiratory diseases, trachoma, anaemia, carbon monoxide poisoning and diarrhoea, including infections like leptospirosis, hepatitis and helicobacter, the commission observed. "To avoid the stench, they often smoke beedis. One of the women has contracted tuberculosis, forcing her to stop working as a manual scavenger. The worst happens during rainy season, when the excreta slip from the basket on their hair and shoulders," the NHRC said, recounting the inhuman condition they suffer. The commission goes on to observe that "The district Meerut is almost a part of the national capital region. If this is the picture of an area not very far from the national capital, one can imagine the scenario in the other parts of the country." The news report further says that the Union Social Justice and Empowerment minister, on March 16 had admitted, in response to a Parliament question that "13 states and union territories reported identification of 12,737 manual scavengers till January 2017," the NHRC said.

9 The central government has announced the Swachh Bharat Mission to construct over 12 crore toilets in rural parts of the country. "However, the project hardly gives a thought to the workers who will be required to clean these toilets. There is no budgetary allocation under the scheme to construct sewer lines to deal with the excreta," it observed. Considering it as the "worst example" of violation of right to life, dignity, equality and health care, the NHRC observed that in a civilised society, where the government has passed laws like Prohibition of Employment as Manual Scavengers and their Rehabilitation Act, Untouchability Offence Act and the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Caste (PoA) Act, the women of a vulnerable Dalit community are still not able to get rid of the slur of carrying human excreta on their heads. Reportedly, the National Safai Karamcharis Finance and Development Corporation (NSKFDC) constituted by the government, grants Rs 40,000 to liberated manual scavengers, which they can withdraw in monthly instalments of not more than Rs 7,000. "The process of rehabilitation of women manual scavengers is also gendered because all the rehabilitation schemes are aimed at male breadwinners," the commission said, quoting from the reports. According to a media report, the National Commission for Scheduled Caste has observed that the expenditure on loans for rehabilitation of manual scavengers in the last three years is "negligible". "The identification of manual scavengers is done by the village pradhans," it added. "Many a times, several leaders name their family members to get the loan. Sometimes, they just fail to identify all the manual scavengers in their area. Reportedly, the process of getting loans has also become difficult as the banks do not trust the community for loans," the commission observed.

10 NHRC ISSUES NOTICE TO UP, CENTRE ON MANUAL SCAVENGERS Sunday, 18 June 2017 PNS Lucknow National Human Rights Commission has taken suo motu cognisance of media report on the plight of manual scavengers, including 30 women in Meerut (Uttar Pradesh) and a total of 12,737 identified in 13 States and Union Territories till January, Terming it as the worst example of violation of right to life, dignity, equality and health care, the NHRC issued notices to the Chief Secretary of UP and Secretary, Union Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment. The officials have been asked to submit detailed report in this regard along with steps taken/proposed to be taken to deal with the situation within six weeks. The officials will also explain about the measures for relief and rehabilitation of the victims. The NHRC observed that in a civilized society where the government has passed laws like 'Prohibition of Employment as Manual Scavengers and their Rehabilitation Act, Untouchability Offence Act and Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Caste (PoA) Act, women of a vulnerable Dalit community were still not able to get rid of the slur of carrying human excreta on their heads. It said that when the situatoon in Meerut (UP), which is in the National Capital Region, is what is seen then one can imagine the scenario in the other parts of the country. Narrating the plight of 30 women manual scavengers in Radhna Inayatpur village of Mawana (Meerut), a media report carried on the 15th June, 2017, said that they were paid as little as Rs 10 to 50 pe month by a household to clean the dry latrines. It sai that these workers were given stale leftover food and worn-out clothes sometimes, as bonus.

11 NHRC issues notices on plight of manual scavengers in Meerut Jun Lucknow, Jun 16 (UNI) The National Human Rights Commission ( NHRC) has taken suo motu cognizance of a media report about the plight of manual scavengers including 30 women in Meerut district of Uttar Pradesh and over alll 12,737 identified in 13 States and Union Territories till January, Considering it as the worst example of violation of right to life, dignity, equality and health care, the Commission has today issued notices, returnable within six weeks, to the Secretary, Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, Government of India and the Chief Secretary of Uttar Pradesh calling for a detailed report in the matter along with the steps taken/proposed to be taken to deal with the situation along with measure for the relief and rehabilitation of the victims. The Commission, in a press statement here today observed that in a civilized society, where the government has passed laws like Prohibition of Employment as Manual Scavengers and their Rehabilitation Act, Untouchability Offence Act and the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Caste (PoA) Act, the women of a vulnerable Dalit community are still not able to get rid of the slur of carrying human excreta on their heads. The district Meerut is almost a part of the National Capital Region and if this is the picture of an area not very far from the Nation capital, one can imagine the scenario in the other parts of the country. Narrating the plight of the 30 women manual scavengers in Radhnaa Inayatpur village of Mawana in the district, of whom many have grown old doing this work, the media report, carried on the June 15 last says that they are paid as little as between ten and fifty rupees every month, per household to clean the dry latrines and sometimes, as a bonus, they are given stale leftover food and worn-out clothes. Due to exposure to filth, most of them have multiple health issues such as vomiting, constant headache, skin and respiratory diseases, trachoma, anemia, carbon monoxide poisoning and diarrhea including infections like Leptospirosis, Hepatitis and Helicobacter. To avoid the stench, they often smoke beedis. One of the women has contracted Tuberculosis forcing her to stop working as a manual scavenger. The worst happens during rainy season, when the excreta slip from the basket on their hair and shoulders. The news story further says that the Union Justice and Empowerment Minister, on March 16, 2017, had admitted, in response to a Parliament Question? that 13 States

12 and Union Territories reported identification of 12,737 manual scavengers till January, The central government has announced the Swach Bharat Mission to construct over 12 crore toilets in rural parts of the country. However, the project hardly gives a thought to the workers who will be required to clean these toilets. There is no budgetary allocation under the scheme to construct sewer lines to deal with the excreta. Reportedly, The National Safai Karamcharis Finance and Development Corporation (NSKFDC) constituted by the government, grants Rs. 40,000 to the liberated manual scavengers, which they can withdraw in monthly installments of not more than Rs.7,000. The process of rehabilitation of women manual scavengers is also gendered because all the rehabilitation schemes are aimed at male breadwinners. According to the media report the National Commission for Scheduled Caste has observed that the expenditure on the loans for the rehabilitation of manual scavengers in the last three years is negligible. The identification of manual scavengers is done by the village pradhans. Many times, many leaders name their family members to get the loan. Sometimes they just fail to identify all the manual scavengers in their area. Reportedly, the process of getting loans has also become difficult as the banks do not trust the community for loans.

13 NHRC slaps notice on UP over plight of manual scavengers Jun 16, 2017, 18:55 IST IANS Taking suo motu cognizance of a media report about the plight of manual scavengers, including 30 women in Meerut district of Uttar Pradesh, the NHRC on Friday slapped a notice on the state government and sought an explanation on the matter within six weeks. Considering it as the "worst example of violation of right to life, dignity, equality and health care", the rights panel has issued notices, returnable within six weeks, to the Secretary, Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, Government of India, and the Uttar Pradesh Chief Secretary. It has also called for a detailed report on the matter along with the steps taken or proposed to be taken to deal with the situation along with measuress for the relief and rehabilitation of the victims. The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has observed that in a civilized society, where the government has passed laws like Prohibition of Employment as Manual Scavengers and their Rehabilitation Act, Untouchability Offence Act and the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Caste (PoA) Act, the women of a vulnerable Dalit community are still not able to get rid of the slur of carrying human excreta on their heads. Meerut is almost a part of the National Capital Region, the NHRC noted and said if this is the picture of an area not very far from the national capital then one can imagine the scenario in other parts of the country. Narrating the plight of 30 women manual scavengers in Radhna Inayatpur village of Mawana in Meerut district, of whom many have grown old doing this work, the media report says that they are paid as little as between Rs every month per household to clean the dry latrines and sometimes, as a bonus, they are given stale leftover food and worn-out clothes.