Why in News? 

• Recently, Three labourers in Mumbai, allegedly hired for manual scavenging, died after inhaling toxic fumes in a septic tank.

• Even though manual scavenging is banned in India, the practice is still prevalent in many parts of the country.

What is manual scavenging?

• Manual scavenging is the practice of removing human excreta by hand from sewers or septic tanks.
• India banned the practice under the Prohibition of Employment as Manual Scavengers and their Rehabilitation Act, 2013 (PEMSR).
• The Act bans the use of any individual for manually cleaning, carrying, disposing of or otherwise handling in any manner, human excreta till its disposal.
• In 2013, the definition of manual scavengers was also broadened to include people employed to clean septic tanks, ditches, or railway tracks.
• The Act recognizes manual scavenging as a “dehumanizing practice,” and cites a need to “correct the historical injustice and indignity suffered by the manual scavengers.”

Why is manual scavenging still prevalent in India?

• The lack of enforcement of the Act and exploitation of unskilled labourers are the reasons why the practice is still prevalent in India.
• The Mumbai civic body charges anywhere between Rs 20,000 and Rs 30,000 to clean septic tanks. The unskilled labourers, meanwhile, are much cheaper to hire and contractors illegally employ them at a daily wage of Rs 300-500.

Reference:

https://indianexpress.com/article/explained/explained-what-is-manual-scavenging-and-why-is-it-still-prevalent-in-india-7815400/