Tamil Nadu government notifies rules for employment, rehabilitation of manual scavengers

Manual cleaning of sewers / septic tanks with safety precautions can be undertaken under exceptional cases only, the notification said

Any person engaged to clean a sewer or a septic tank would have to be provided a list of 44 items of protective gear and safety devices by his employer, according to the Tamil Nadu Prohibition of Employment as Manual Scavengers and their Rehabilitation Rules, 2022 notified by the State government recently.

"Employment of any person for manual scavenging or hazardous cleaning of sewers and septic tanks is completely banned under the Act. Manual cleaning of sewers and septic tanks with safety precautions including protective gear and devices can be undertaken under exceptional cases only, with the permission of the local authority for reasons to be recorded," it said.

The notification issued by the Municipal Administration and Water Supply Department under the Prohibition of Employment as Manual Scavengers and their Rehabilitation Act, 2013 specified that no person must be allowed to clean a sewer manually without protective gear and safety devices under these rules except in certain cases.

The local authority or officer designated is to ensure that a list of 14 cleaning devices are used by persons engaged in cleaning sewer or septic tanks. The cleaning of a sewer or a septic tank shall be done "only in day-light" and for a duration not exceeding 90 minutes at a stretch, it said.

A mandatory interval of 30 minutes between two stretches is to be allowed and after the cleaning process. "Ensure that written operating and rescue procedures are displayed at the entry site," it said. The rules specify a survey of "insanitary latrines" by every local authority, which is to draw a suitable time schedule for the survey within its jurisdiction.

If the local authority undertakes a survey to identify persons engaged in manual scavenging, the "identified manual scavengers, one from each family, shall be eligible for receiving one time cash assistance of ₹40,000 immediately after identification."

Each local body and private sanitation agencies are to be equipped with appropriate technology, machineries, among others and are to ensure that only trained professionals are allowed to enter the sewer / septic tanks.