The Supreme Court on Thursday fined the Delhi government’s public works department Rs 5 lakh for violating its orders against manual scavenging, after labourers, including a minor, were found clearing drains without protective gear outside the court premises, PTI reported.
A bench of Justices Aravind Kumar and NV Anjaria observed that its 2023 order to phase out manual sewer cleaning had been ignored. It added that a first information report would be filed against officials for any future violations.
The bench said that officials from all departments, not just those in the public works unit, need to “wake up from slumber” to ensure compliance with its directions “in letter and spirit”, the news agency reported.
Manual scavenging, which is the practice of removing human excreta by hand from sewer lines or septic tanks, is banned under the 2013 Prohibition of Employment as Manual Scavengers and their Rehabilitation Act.
However the practice remains prevalent in several parts of the country.
Advocate K Parameshwar, assisting the court as amicus curiae, said that the incident showed a blatant disregard of binding directions.
“The minor was engaged, and it’s specifically recorded in the video,” PTI quoted him as saying.
He told the court that a complaint was sought to be filed at the Tilak Marg police station. However, he said that neither the police nor the public works department had taken action.
“This is not merely a labour law violation rather it is a breach of constitutional obligations,” PTI quoted him as saying. “Let the fine be recovered from the officers themselves.”
The bench said that its earlier directions “had not percolated” or were “consciously ignored”.
It reiterated that workers should not be made to enter drains or sewers without protective gear and warned that any untoward incident would lead to registration of FIRs against the officials.
“At this stage, we desist from doing so for the simple reason that no incident has occurred and to ensure that neither the officials nor the contractor appointed by them allow the worker to enter the drain or soft water drain or sewer without protective gear,” PTI quoted the bench as saying.
The court was hearing applications in a public interest litigation highlighting the continuing practice of manual scavenging.
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