DANGER IN THE SEWER: ELIMINATING SEWER CLEANING DEATHS

06 Nov 2026

Tags: Social Justice   Vulnerable Sections   Welfare schemes

Source: The Hindu

Context: Despite legislation, Supreme Court directions, government schemes and mechanised cleaning technologies, sanitation workers continue to die while cleaning sewers, septic tanks and other hazardous waste chambers.

• In a recent incident, four workers died in Ujjain, Madhya Pradesh, while cleaning a hotel's food-waste chamber.

Extent of the Problem

• According to Parliamentary and National Commission for Safai Karamcharis (NCSK) data, reported deaths of workers engaged in sewer and septic tank cleaning include:
  • 859 deaths: 2014–2025.
  • 498 deaths: 2019–mid-2026.
  • 332 deaths: Across 18 States and UTs during 2021–26.
  • 1,350 deaths: 1993–2025.
• Despite multiple interventions, deaths have not declined to zero. The Safai Karamchari Andolan has repeatedly alleged significant under-reporting of such deaths.
• Members of historically marginalised castes remain disproportionately represented in hazardous sanitation work.

Legal and Judicial Framework

• Prohibition of Employment as Manual Scavengers and their Rehabilitation Act, 2013:
  • Prohibits employment of manual scavengers and insanitary latrines.
  • Prohibits hazardous cleaning of sewers and septic tanks without prescribed safety precautions and protective equipment.
  • The law distinguishes manual scavenging from hazardous sewer and septic tank cleaning.
• Supreme Court – Safai Karamchari Andolan (2014): Directed rehabilitation of manual scavengers and compensation of ₹10 lakh to the families of those who died while cleaning sewers.
• Supreme Court – Dr. Balram Singh case (2023):
  • Strengthened the safeguards laid down in the 2014 judgment.
  • Directed that outsourced sewer-cleaning contracts must not require workers to enter sewers.
  • Increased compensation for sewer and septic tank cleaning deaths to ₹30 lakh per worker.
• 2025 Supreme Court order: Directed an end to manual sewer cleaning in four metropolitan cities.
• 2026: Bengaluru and Hyderabad faced further judicial scrutiny, with notices issued to 15 Chief Secretaries for non-compliance with the 2023 directions, including compensation requirements.

Why Do Sewer Cleaning Deaths Continue?

• Unsafe working conditions: Workers entering sewers and septic tanks remain exposed to toxic and noxious gases, which can cause suffocation and death.
• Violation of legal restrictions: Municipal bodies and private contractors continue to violate restrictions on hazardous manual cleaning.
• Informal employment: Contractors evade legal accountability by employing undocumented daily-wage workers, making identification, compensation and rehabilitation difficult.
• Caste-based occupational vulnerability: Historically marginalised communities remain disproportionately engaged in hazardous sanitation work.
• Under-reporting: Inadequate reporting of deaths weakens accountability and conceals the actual scale of the problem.
• Administrative complacency: Since at least 2021, the government has maintained that manual cleaning of excreta from insanitary latrines has been eliminated. This overlooks hazardous sewer cleaning and reduces the urgency of inspections of municipalities and private establishments.

Government Initiatives

• National Action for Mechanised Sanitation Ecosystem (NAMASTE):
  • Aims to ensure the safety and dignity of sanitation workers through mechanisation of sanitation work.
  • Focuses on urban local bodies (ULBs), providing support such as sanitation equipment and safety kits.
  • However, a significant gap persists between the scheme's objectives and actual outcomes.
• Mechanised cleaning technologies: Availability of machines and equipment has not translated into the complete elimination of hazardous manual entry into sewers and septic tanks.

Challenges in Implementation

• Contractor accountability: Outsourcing sanitation work enables municipal bodies and contractors to evade responsibility for workers' safety.
• Lack of employment formalisation: Informal and undocumented employment prevents workers from accessing adequate social security, compensation and legal protection.
• Inadequate administrative approach: Government interventions often prioritise distributing safety kits and providing administrative assistance rather than eliminating situations that require workers to enter hazardous spaces.
• Weak monitoring: Inadequate inspections and enforcement allow private establishments and municipal authorities to continue unsafe practices.

Way Forward

• Complete mechanisation: Eliminate hazardous manual entry into sewers and septic tanks through mechanised cleaning technologies.
• Formalisation of employment: Ensure proper registration of sanitation workers, including contractual and daily-wage workers, to establish accountability.
• Strengthen social security: Provide health insurance, accident coverage, rehabilitation and other social security benefits to sanitation workers.
• Strict enforcement: Hold municipal authorities and private contractors accountable for violations of the 2013 Act and Supreme Court directions.
• Effective monitoring: Conduct regular inspections of municipalities, hotels and other private establishments employing sanitation workers.
• Outcome-oriented governance: Shift the focus from distributing safety kits to minimising and ultimately eliminating situations that expose workers to fatal risks.