- In a first-of-its-kind initiative, the government is enumerating workers involved in hazardous sewer and septic tank cleaning across urban areas in India.
- Data collected from over 3,000 urban local bodies (ULBs) in 29 states and union territories has revealed significant socio-economic insights about these workers.
- Demographics of Workers: 91.9% of the 38,000 profiled workers belong to Scheduled Caste (SC), Scheduled Tribe (ST), or Other Backward Class (OBC) communities.
- NAMASTE Programme Objectives:
- The Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment launched the NAMASTE program to mechanise sewer work and eliminate hazardous cleaning.
- NAMASTE replaces the Self-Employment Scheme for Rehabilitation of Manual Scavengers (SRMS).
- The program targets all sewer and septic tank workers, including drivers, helpers, machine operators, and cleaners.
- The goal is to profile all workers, provide safety training and equipment, and offer capital subsidies to support these workers in becoming sanitation entrepreneurs i.e. sanipreneurs.
- Some states, such as Tamil Nadu and Odisha, run independent programs and do not report data under the NAMASTE program.
- Under the SRMS scheme, 58,098 identified workers received a one-time cash transfer of ₹40,000 along with skills training or loans for another profession.
Dig Deeper: Read about the National Commission of Safai Karamcharis and its mandate.
