Mumbai: Human rights body demands action over manual scavenging complaints

An NGO and local residents complained about the manual scavenging of nullahs at Govandi

The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has directed the city district magistrate to act on complaints by an NGO and local residents regarding manual scavenging and the cleaning of nullahs with bare hands at Govandi, In its letter, the NHRC has asked the district magistrates office to submit a report on the matter, along with an action-taken report, within the next four weeks.

If the report is not received within the stipulated time, the authority concerned would have to make a personal appearance before the commission for submission of the report. The photos of labourers of both sexes unclogging drains and removing filth by getting into a manhole without protective gear or gloves at Baiganwadi near Govandi had left Mumbaikars wondering if manual scavenging continues in the city.

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"Manual scavenging is prohibited, but it is still being practised across Mumbai and the Mumbai Metropolitan Region. We spotted manual scavengers - both men and women - without any safety gear, entering and cleaning nullahs in Govandi and Chembur areas in April. Labourers, hired by contractors, were seen manually scavenging to clean nullahs as a part of the BMC's pre-monsoon work," said Faiyaz Alam Shaikh complainant in the matter and founder president of the NGO New Sangam Welfare Society.

According to Shaikh, the state government's December 2022 notification mandated that all local/municipal bodies put a stop to the manual cleaning of septic tanks and sewage lines by switching to 100 per cent mechanisation. "Hence manual scavenging is an illegal practice. We wrote to the NHRC on April 20, highlighting the issue with photo and video evidence. Now we are awaiting the district magistrate's action," he said.

Residents, too, have complained that the BMC still uses labourers to manually clean nullahs, despite the Bombay High Court (HC) ordering the state government in September 2021 to ensure the "inhuman" and "shameful" practice is stopped. "We are sure the BMC is aware of the issue but continues to hire contractors who recruit labourers to do these jobs at a measly sum. They are made to manually get into a big nullah and clean them with their bare hands and without any safety equipment," said a resident of Govandi.

Last year, the President of Kamgar Saurakshan Samman Sangh (KRSSS), Bilal Khan, filed an FIR against a showroom manager in the western suburbs for letting some labourers manually clean the drain. "At the time, a BMC official told us off the record that excavators and other machines are used to clean big nullahs. They have the machinery for the work, but contractors use manual labourers as the machines can't access smaller drains or manholes," Khan said, adding that the BMC seems to have no options on how to follow the court's direction.