“A manual scavenging-free India is a blatant lie,” activists said on Tuesday, alleging that the practice continues under new labels despite legal prohibitions.
The remarks were made at a panel discussion held as part of a day-long state-level consultation, on Tuesday, April 28, on the implementation of laws related to the welfare of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes. The consultation was organised by the Alternative Law Forum (ALF), Slum Janandolana Karnataka (which is a grassroots housing rights movement), and Samvidhana Samrakshana Vedike (a collective working to uphold constitutional rights and values).
Speakers said that manual scavenging remains deeply rooted in caste hierarchies, with dominant communities continuing to impose the work while marginalised groups bear its severe physical and psychological toll.
“The root cause is the caste-based nature of this work. People have been forced into it for generations,” said Padma M, state organising coordinator of the Safai Karmachari Kaval Samiti, a sanitation workers’ rights organisation focusing on ending manual scavenging. She added that many within these communities are led to believe they have no alternative livelihoods.
Padma highlighted the stigma surrounding the work, which often prevents workers from speaking out. “They do this work in the early hours, around 3 am, before sunrise, so that no one sees them,” she said, noting that both men and women are engaged in such conditions.
Dr Obalesh, state convenor of the Safai Karmachari Kaval Samiti, said that around 110 deaths linked to manual scavenging have been recorded in Karnataka since 2008. However, he stressed that official figures fail to capture the extent of long-term health damage among workers.
“Many lose mobility, develop diabetes, vision problems, heart disease, and severe skin conditions,” Padma added. She also noted that workers are often pushed towards alcohol use to cope with the nature of the work, and that many appear decades older than their actual age by their 40s.
Speakers pointed out that the lack of regular health camps and institutional support has led to a drastically reduced life expectancy among sanitation workers.
Obalesh noted that Karnataka has taken some steps compared to other states, citing a directive from the state police chief mandating the registration of FIRs under the Prohibition of Employment as Manual Scavengers and their Rehabilitation Act, 2013, along with relevant provisions of the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.
He added that the formation of a State Level Monitoring Committee has led to some progress, with Social Welfare Officers more likely to register cases in instances of deaths.
However, he pointed out that many recent deaths have occurred in urban, affluent neighbourhoods, where workers are called in to clean septic tanks. “In a way, this is a high-tech atrocity,” he said.
Obalesh also recounted cases where apartment owners denied responsibility by shifting blame to contractors. “People think as long as someone else cleans their waste, it doesn’t matter who they are. There is total neglect,” he said.
Speakers argued that the 2013 law remains poorly implemented, with its core principles — prohibition, rehabilitation, eradication, and legal accountability — not being prioritised.
Padma criticised the over-reliance on mechanised cleaning. “If a machine breaks down, it remains unused for months, and authorities go back to hiring people,” she said, adding that machines often fail to remove solid waste, which is then manually cleaned.
Criticising government schemes such as the National Action for Mechanised Sanitation Ecosystem (NAMASTE), Obalesh said authorities often reclassify manual scavengers as “hazardous cleaners” to avoid extending rehabilitation benefits under the Self Employment Scheme for Rehabilitation of Manual Scavengers (SRMS).
Calling this a “planned bureaucratic atrocity,” he urged stricter accountability to ensure the complete eradication of manual scavenging.
Also Read: How a Union govt survey allows states to fraudulently declare they are manual scavenging free
The article was written by a student interning with TNM