JNUs Filthy Reality

A Report on the Practices of Manual Scavenging

&

Hazardous Cleaning of Sewers in JNU

All India General Kamgar Union (AIGKU), JNU Unit

AIGKU 2014
Prepared by
Abha Arya, SSS Councillor, JNUSU
V. Arun Kumar, SIS, JNU
for All India General Kamgar Union- (Reg. No.3271) JNU Unit
Email: aigku.india@gmaiI.com
Ghosh.agnitra@gmail.com

The worker becomes poorer the more wealth he produces The devaluation of
the human world grows in direct proportion to the increase in value of the
world of things - Karl Marx

Dedicated to all the contract workers of JNU

on whose hard toil the institution runs but
whose rights are violated with impunity and
lives consigned to invisibility, injustice, indignity

"What you have lost others have gained. Your humiliations are a matter of pride with
others. You are made to suffer wants, privations and humiliations not because it was
pre-ordained by the sins committed in your previous birth, but because of the
overpowering tyranny and treachery of those who are above you. You have no lands
because others have usurped them; you have no posts because others have monopolised
them. Do not believe in fate; believe in your strength."
- Babasaheb Dr. B.R. Ambedkar

Contents
Introduction............................................................................................... 1
Manual Scavenging and Hazardous Cleaning .............................. 2
JNU: Invisible Lives in the Sewer ...................................................... 5
The Unseen lives ................................................................................... 10
The fallacy of Swachh Bharat Abhiyan:....................................... 12
Action-Plan .............................................................................................. 14
Demands .................................................................................................. 21

*Above photos are only for representational purposes

Introduction
Jawaharlal Nehru University is considered to be one of the most prestigious
universities in India. Spread across one thousand acres of lush green stretch,
JNU is best known for its
quality research and active
politics. Life in the university is
always active and kicking with
departmental

seminars,

political and social movements,

public talks and cultural events.
Besides hundreds of academic
and administrative staffs, and
thousands of students, there is
an army of permanent and
contract workers that keeps the
university running 24X7 and
365 days a year. But flip side to
the prestigious story of JNU

Did you know?

JNU employs around 12-15 contract
workers for the cleaning of sewers and
septic tanks. While the law prohibits
cleaning of sewers and septic tank
without protective and safety equipment,
workers in JNU are forced to enter and
clean without any equipment. The only
thing that keeps them alive inside the
filthy and toxic world of sewers is their
quick judgement. These workers are
thrown into a vortex of severe social and
economic exploitation with even basic
human rights being denied to them.
Use hashtag #StopMSinJNU to SPEAK
OUT against the inhuman practices of
manual scavenging in JNU.

are the stories of large scale

exploitation and infringement of rights of these thousands of workers
working in hostel, mess, sanitation and other services inside JNU campus,
both by JNU administration and contractors.
This report focuses on a story beyond the visible spectrum of exploitation.
The report looks into a filthy and stinking reality of JNU that remains
invisible in the sewer lines and behind the veil of caste exploitation. This
reality is the practice of manual scavenging and hazardous cleaning of
sewers and septic tank in JNU campus.

Manual Scavenging and Hazardous Cleaning

The Prohibition of Employment as Manual Scavengers and Their
Rehabilitation Act, 20131 (hereafter called MS Act) defines Manual
Scavenging as follows;
manual scavenger means a person engaged or employed by an individual
or a local authority or an agency or a contractor, for manually cleaning,
carrying, disposing of, or otherwise handling in any manner, human excreta
in an insanitary latrine or in an open drain or pit into which the human
excreta from the insanitary latrines is disposed of, or on a railway track or in
such other spaces or premises before the excreta fully decomposes in such
manner as may be prescribed
Expanding its ambit to include the cleaning of sewers and septic tank, the
MS Act stipulates that hazardous cleaning by an employee, in relation to a
sewer or septic tank, means its manual cleaning by such employee without
the employer fulfilling his obligations to provide protective gear and other
cleaning devices and ensuring observance of safety precautions.
In

general

manual

scavenging

and

hazardous cleaning means the practices of

cleaning

and

removing

human

waste

(excreta) with or without protective gears,

and cleaning of sewers or septic tank
without protective gears and cleaning
equipment.
The legal basis to abolish practices of manual
scavenging and hazardous cleaning has existed
since 1993 (Elimination of Manual Scavenging
1

Came into force on December 06, 2013

and Construction of Dry Latrines (Prohibition) Act, 1993) but this law has
always been observed in contravention. To understand the existence of such
inhuman and degrading practices in this 21st century one has to look into
the relation between the practices of manual scavenging and caste
discrimination.
Manual Scavenging is the practice of manual cleaning of human excreta from
insanitary/ dry latrine. Manual scavenging means the picking up of human
excrement by another human with his/ her hands2. Bhasha Singh explains
this horrendous act in her book Unseen is done in two ways; first,
scavengers clean the dry latrines by gathering human excreta in some vessel
and throw it in some specific place; second, scavengers clean the septic tank
(or sewage pits) which functions as waste disposal in toilets in somebodys
home or municipality. The law specifies that even cleaning sanitary
latrines with bare hands amounts to manual scavenging. This practice
can be seen in the entire country in one or the other form. Caste system and
practices of manual scavenging are a phenomenon existing in Indian
Subcontinent.
Scavengers

are

the

most

oppressed and suppressed class

of Indian society- mostly bhangis,
toti, mehtar, dum, valmiki, dhanuk,
choods, mochi, baasfor, halalkhor
domdaar etc (Scheduled Castes &
Scheduled Tribes in India). It is
historically seen there are specific
group of people who are fixed
with the role of scavenging. This

Singh, Bhasha (2012)The Unseen (New Delhi: Penguin)

group of people lives their entire life like this and remain in the lowest
strata of the society. The defenders of the caste society may call this
segmentation as division of labour. But as Dr. B.R. Ambedkar3 argues, caste
system is not merely division of labour but is also a division of labourers. It
is hierarchy in which the division of labourers are graded one above the
other. Manual scavengers continue this apathetic job from generations as
their children do not get proper education and environment. Ultimately,
this work is imposed upon them, which push them to lowest stratum of
social hierarchy. As we know the tasks are appointed in advance on the
basis of the social status of their parents. These occupations are not based
on choice but the dogma of pre destination, where the caste system will
not allow Hindus to take to occupation where they are wanted if they do not
belong to them by hierarchy4. The defenders of caste system, which we
have seen recently that our macho Prime Minister Narendra Modi making
statements that manual scavenging is a spiritual experience, argues that
varnasrama system increases economic efficiency. This argument has long
been negated by Dr. Ambedkar mentioning, caste Hindus have vested
interest in untouchability. This vested interest takes the shape of economic
exploitation such as forced labour or cheap labour, that may not necessarily
involve reason. As when reasons come into conflict with vested interest, it
fails5. An occupation which is against the will of a person or reason of
system can have several negative effects. This led to a constant desire to
escape from the occupation which have blighting effect and stigma attached
to it. After saying this much, we should ask the defenders of caste system,
what efficiency will it yield? Dr. Ambedkar argues, as an economic
organization caste is therefore a harmful institution, inasmuch as, it involves

Ambedkar, BR (2003) Annihilation of Caste (New Delhi: Samyak Prakashan)

ibid
5
ibid
4

the subordination of mans natural power and inclination to the exigencies

of social rules6.
Varnashram is justified on religious grounds, by rationalizing it in holy text
books, scriptures and though the theory of karma. Therefore, the practice of
manual scavenging had always been justified by the similar grounds by the
bramhanical forces.

JNU: Invisible Lives in the Sewer

I come out of the sewer with human waste all over me. I dont
even get a soap to clean myself. It seems only death can remove
this stench from me.
-

A Sewage Worker in JNU

Beneath the lush green landscape of JNU lies a maze of Underground

Drainage (UDG) Lines (also known as Sewer Lines) with manhole openings
at various places. The depth of sewer manholes ranges from 12 to 30 feet.
JNU employs 16 contract workers to clean repair and maintain the UDG/
Sewer lines inside the campus working under JNU engineering department.
All these sewer men (as they are known) are from Dalit communities and
mostly come from outer Delhi or from states adjoining Delhi.
These sewer men are forced to work under inhuman and degrading
conditions. They enter the sewer lines with just a ladder and a rope. No
protective gears or cleaning devices are provided to them. They are not even
provided with any washing provisions such as soaps to clean themselves
after the work. The only thing that protects them inside the highly toxic
environment of sewers from an ultimate death is their quick
judgement about their surroundings.

ibid

JNU: Manual Scavenging and Hazardous Cleaning

JNU contract workers involved in cleaning of sewers near administration
block of JNU. One can clearly see workers cleaning the sewers without any
protective and safety equipment- these pictures are from JNU !

Sewer materials are highly toxic and contain poisonous and inflammable
gases. Personnel involved in operation & maintenance of sewerage systems
are often exposed to various types of occupational hazards like7

Physical injuries,

Injured by chemicals and radioactive waste

Infections caused by pathogens

Exposure to explosive or obnoxious gases (Hydrogen Sulphide

(H2S), Carbon Monoxide, Methane, Gasoline vapours)

Oxygen deficiency

Presence of viral, bacterial, or parasitic microorganisms in the sewers acts as a

potential threat, since it may result in infections. For those workers exposed to
sewage, the most serious viral risk is hepatitis and the most serious bacterial risk
is tetanus8.
Nationwide, hundreds of workers have died while entering and cleaning
sewers/ septic tanks in past few years and in the recent Supreme Court9
judgements
taking

the

cognizance
this

of

serious

issue

had

asked
authorities

to

provide
protective and
safety

Draft Safety Manual for Construction and Maintenance of UGD Lines and Septic tanks in the
limits of Urban Local Bodies, 2012 of Government of Karnataka
8
ibid
9
Writ Petition (Civil) No. 583 Of 2003 , Civil Appeal No.5322 Of 2011

equipment to workers entering sewers. In JNU, workers cleaning sewers

faced such dangerous situations and near death many a times but were
quick enough to understand the situation and escape. Due to inaction and
apathetic attitude of administration such incidents were never reported.
Within minutes of entering the sewer we felt irritation in our eyes, my
friend told me to get out as soon as possible. Had not he realised the
danger in time, I would not be sitting here and telling this story to you.
But the reality is this is everyday for us and considered normal by
others says a 35 year old sewage worker employed in JNU. One or two
breaths of air, with as little as 600 parts per million of Hydrogen Sulphide,
can cause a person to lose consciousness and continued exposure to H2S can
be fatal10. Apart from the fatalities the workers are prone to sustain serious
injuries due to solid objects like blades, projecting glasses and other sharpedged or pointed objects.
The septic tanks in JNU
campus are also cleaned
by

these

workers

manually by bare hands

and no machines are
used.
Considering the various
judicial

judgements11

regarding the issue of

right to life- it includes
right live with human
dignity;

right

to

have

Watch: ''Sahar se Pahle'' [Before the

Dawn]
This documentary tries to highlight the plight of
contract workers in JNU, especially those
engaged in sanitation work. Most of these
workers come from historically underprivileged
social backgrounds (Backward Castes). The
film has been named Sahar Se Pahle or Before
the Dawn to stress the fact that these workers
start their work even before other people wake
up and their exploitation goes unnoticed.
Moreover the name also hints at the dawn
which is yet to come, when the producers of
wealth shall actually be the masters of wealth.
(Available on Youtube)

healthy environment; right

10

In the judgement of Gujarat High Court, Praveen Rashtrapal, I.R.S. vs Chief Officer, Kadi
Municipality on 15 February, 2006 [ (2006) 3 GLR 1809]
11
Supreme Court judgement 1995 AIR 922, 1995 SCC (3)42

to have protection against hazards of the employment; right to health; right

to have medical treatment and right to have adequate compensation for the
injuries suffered during the course of discharge of duty etc. Workers
working in sewage are thrown into a vortex of severe social and
economic exploitation12. On one hand they face a severe structural
discrimination perpetuated by the caste ridden society which forced them to
take such inhuman and degrading job of manual scavenging; on the other
they face exploitation in the hands of JNU administration and private
contractors. Manual cleaning of sewers leads to occupation health hazards
because of toxic environment. Studies show an average sewage worker
suffers from minimum of 64 health ailments13. But for the administration
and contractors, these workers are a source cheap labour and not humans.
These sewage workers are not only denied any protective or safety gears,
they are not even provided with any health facilities.

The Unseen lives

In JNU, the unseen reality is not limited to sewage workers. Apart from these
sewage workers there are hundreds of sanitation workers (safai
karmacharis) working all over the campus, but their plights remain unseen
and invisible. Their lives, like of the sewage workers, are squeezed in
between caste discrimination and economic exploitation. For them, the
struggle for timely wages, provident fund, issuance of Employees State
Insurance (ESI) cards, bonus and health facilities are part of everyday
life in JNU.
Like sewage workers, the other sanitation workers are also forced to work
without proper safety equipment or are provided with substandard items.
The Prohibition of Employment as Manual Scavengers and Their
12

Writ Petition (Civil) No. 583 Of 2003

In the judgement of Gujarat High Court, Praveen Rashtrapal, I.R.S. vs Chief Officer, Kadi
Municipality on 15 February, 2006 [ (2006) 3 GLR 1809]
13

10

Rehabilitation Act, 2013 stipulates manually cleaning, carrying, disposing

of, or otherwise handling in any manner, human excreta amounts to
manual scavenging. Sanitation workers are sometimes forced to clean
human excreta in toilets with mere brooms and without proper safety boots,
gloves and masks.

Contract workers are denied their basic right for a healthy environment and
right for protective equipment provided by law. JNU administration refuses
to provide even the basic first aid and health facilities for sanitation
workers. Workers normally have approach students for first aid in case of
small injuries. For severe wound or illness, they often have to approach
private clinics because of non-issuance of ESI cards by contractors. This was
the case with Anjus husband (see photo below) working in JNU when he
was bitten by some poisonous insect leading to serve skin and stomach
infection. As the contractor failed to provide ESI card as mandated by law,
he was not able to avail the health facility at ESI clinic and in the end had to
go to a private clinic spending half of his salary for treatment. Such cases of
infringement of rights of the workers happen in JNU despite repeated
reminders to JNU administration to ensure that contractors abide by
labour laws. JNU administration remains mute spectator.

11

The demands to provide sanitation workers with specified and stands

protective equipment has been raised many a times with JNU
administration, but the issues have never been addressed. Under Section 40
(1) & 40 (2) (of chapter V) of the Contract Labour (Regulation and
Abolition) Central Rules of 1971, JNU administration has legal obligation (in
case the contractor fails within seven days of employment of a contract
labour) to provide necessary amenities and equipment for the welfare and
health of contract labourers.
We witnessed JNU administration coming out with brand new
broomsticks, gloves and facemasks to celebrate Swachh Bharat
Abhiyan, but sewage and sanitation workers continue to face apathy
and injustice, and are forced to work under inhumane and degrading
conditions.

The fallacy of Swachh Bharat Abhiyan:

On the birth anniversary of M K Gandhi this year, Prime Minister Narendra
Modi launched Swachh Bharat Abhiyan or Clean India Campaign. The
campaign was started to fulfil the objective of cleaning India in five yearswhich would help promote tourism. Swachh Bharat Abhiyan began with
12

the glorified picture of Modi and his top officials cleaning dried leaves with
brand new brooms which seemed more like well co-ordinated photo-op
instead of cleaning. The campaign attempts to glorify and spiritualize the act
of cleaning, but ignores those who in our country have traditionally engaged
in cleaning.
In this campaign, there is no mention of the entire section which is involved
in the cleaning chores, which consists of particular castes. A large number of
workers are engaged in cleaning toilets without protective equipment, the
conditions of sewage workers are particularly bad. The intervention of
modern technologies in the landscape of sanitation may have stopped the
use of dry latrines and caused the gradual shift towards sanitary latrines to
some extent. But what have never changed are the lives of millions of
manual scavengers belonging to particular castes who are considered
untouchables in the Indian society. What remains unchanged is the
occupation of these manual scavengers who earlier used to clean dry
latrines with their bare hands (which still continues) and now clean sewers
and septic tanks manually. They are still tied to the caste equation that is
associated with cleaning and sanitation work in India. This campaign fails to
address even the basic social and political problems of the manual
scavengers and sanitation workers.
These workers are employed mostly through contractors in both private
and public institutions. The responsibility of the contractors is to provide
labour for cleaning but these contractors as well as the JNU administration
(the principal employer) have always failed to ensure timely payment of
salaries and provident fund to the workers. Contractors use bogus excuses
like cost for dress/uniform to steal money from the workers salaries.
There are many workers in JNU who are struggling to get back their dues
(deducted in the name of providing dress etc or stolen through nonpayment of PF amounts).

13

Swachh Bharat Abhiyan is a move to dilute the real issues concerning

workers engaged in sanitation work. Sanitation workers are doubly
marginalized: one, because of the structural stigmatization that exists in
society; second, due to the rampant contract system denying even the basic
rights to the workers including their right to form unions. The contract
system makes these workers a source of cheap wage labour and does not
help in any kind of skill development, which would have helped them in
coming out of the clutches of caste based occupation. This is the reality of
brahmanical and capitalist nature of the government and its institutions. In
a book titled Karmayog (publication year 2007)- through which sermons
were delivered to highly placed officials

of the Modi led Gujarat

government, the work of sanitation employees was spiritualized. They

perhaps fell short of the realization that this important yet polluted work is
done only by particular castes in our society with least sources of living.
The campaign serves no more purpose than tokenism by ignoring the
biggest stakeholder- the millions of sanitation workers. Many might find the
glitz of the campaign persuasive but the majority of the population which
still struggles for its daily bread definitely knows the reality of the campaign.
One can also argue that the main aim of this campaign is not a clean India
but to obliterate the evidences of a reality- the reality of caste based
discrimination and exploitation of labour.

Action-Plan
The Prohibition of Employment as Manual Scavengers and Their
Rehabilitation Act, 2013 came into force on December 06, 2013 and The
Prohibition of Employment as Manual Scavengers and Their Rehabilitation
Rules, 2013 issues by Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment. Section 7
of the Act stipulates No person, local authority or any agency shall, from
such date as the State Government may notify, which shall not be later
than one year from the date of commencement of this Act, engage or
14

employ, either directly or indirectly, any person for hazardous cleaning of a

sewer or a septic tank. Section 9 of the act further stipulates Whoever
contravenes the provisions of section 7 shall for the first contravention be
punishable with imprisonment for a term which may extend to two years or
with fine which may extend to two lakh rupees or with both, and for any
subsequent contravention with imprisonment which may extend to five
years or with fine which may extend to five lakh rupees, or with both. The
M.S Act which came into force on December 06, 2013 makes the
engage or employ, either directly or indirectly, any person for
hazardous cleaning of a sewer or a septic tank a punishable offense
from December 06, 2014.
The Draft Safety Manual for Construction and Maintenance of UGD Lines and
Septic tanks in the limits of Urban Local Bodies (2012) of Government of
Karnataka and The Prohibition of Employment as Manual Scavengers and
Their Rehabilitation Rules, 2013 (MS Rules) provides detailed information
on the standards and types of cleaning and protective equipment for sewage
cleaning. The 2013 MS rules issued by Ministry of Social Justice and
Empowerment provide the following equipment details under chapter II
(obligation of employer towards its employees engaged for the cleaning of
sewer or septic tank);
1. Safety body clothing/ safety body harness/ safety belt
2. Normal face mask
3. Safety torch
4. Hand gloves
5. Safety goggles
6. Safety helmets
7.

Emergency medical resuscitator kit

8. Gas Monitor ( 4 gases)

9. Head lamp
10. Reflecting jackets
15

11. Guide pipe set

12. Safety tripod set
13. Wadder suits
14. Breathing apparatus
15. Chlorine mask
16. Air compressor for blower
17. Modular Airlines Supply Trolley System
18. Full face mask
19. Safety Gumboot
20. Raincoats
The rule further puts down the standard operating procedure (SOP) which
should be observed while cleaning sewers or septic tank;
a. There should be minimum of two employees present all the times, one
should be a supervisor
b. The atmosphere within the confined space should be tested for oxygen
deficiency and toxic and combustible gas.
c. At least one trained and experienced employee should be present all
times during sewage cleaning
d.

Before starting the cleaning operation the supervisor should inspect

and determine if the sewer servers any industries nearby to anticipate
the hazardous atmosphere that may be encountered

e. The condition of metal-rung ladder and sidewalls of the manhole

should be checked to see if there is any danger of collapse.
f.

Smoking or open flames in near the sewer manhole should not be

permitted

g. Traffic and pedestrian barricade should be provided all the times

h. A flag man should be stationed ahead of a site and should be visible to
incoming traffic for a least 500 feet.

16

The sanitation workers engaged in cleaning of toilets are often clean human
excreta in toilets with just broom sticks. Workers engaged in clearing of
garbage have to use their bare hands to clear garbage containing various
hazardous materials like glass pieces, syringes and also baby diapers,
sanitary pads and animal excreta. In view of the right to life of worker
including right to have healthy environment; right to have protection
against hazards of the employment and right to health following safety
equipment should (with proper stock of supply) be provided to all
sanitation workers;
1. Safety gloves (cut resistance and water proof)
2. Safety Gumboots
3. Face mask
4. Uniform
5. First Aid
Under the Contract Labour (Regulation and Abolition) Central Rule of 1971
(Chapter V- Welfare and Health of Contract Labour), JNU administration as
the principal employer has the obligation to ensure the welfare and health
of contract workers. Section 40 (1) of the act specifies;
The facilities required to be provided under sections 18 and 19 of the
Act, namely sufficient water supply of wholesome drinking water,
a sufficient number of latrines and urinals, washing facilities and
first aid facilities shall be provided by the contractor in the case of the
existing establishments within seven days of the commencement of
these rules and in the case of new establishment within seven days of
the commencement of the employment of contract labour therein.
Further Section 40 (2) stipulates;

17

If any of the facility mentioned in sub-rule (1) is not provided by

the contractor within the period prescribed the same shall be
provided by the principal employer within seven days of the
expiry of the period laid down in the said sub-rule.

Modern Technology
The Prohibition of Manual Scavenging Act, section 33 (1) stipulates It shall
be the duty of every local authority and other agency to use appropriate
technological appliances for cleaning of sewers, septic tanks and other
spaces within their control with a view to eliminating the need for the
manual handling of excreta in the process of their cleaning. The use of
modern machinery and technology can help to large extent can help in
minimising the manual cleaning of sewers and septic tanks.
Suction

cum

machine

jetting

(also

in

separate jetting and

suction machine)
one

the

is

modern

technology that can

effectively clean the
sewers

and

sceptic

tank with minimum

use

of

human

intervention. The draft manual of Karnataka government explains the uses

of jetting and suction machine as such;

18

Velocity Cleaners (Jetting machine)14 - The high velocity sewer cleaner

makes use of high velocity water jets to remove and dislodge obstructions,
soluble grease, grit and other materials from sanitary, storm and combined
sewerage systems. It combines the functions of a rodding machine and gully
emptier machine. Basically it includes a high pressure hydraulic pump
capable of delivering water at variable pressure up to about 80 kg/cm2
though flexible hose to a sewer cleaning nozzle. The nozzle has one forward
facing hole and a number of rear ward facing holes. The high pressure water
coming out of the holes with a high velocity breaks up and dislodges the
obstructions and flushes the materials down the sewer. Moreover by
varying the pressure suitably, the nozzle itself acts as jack hammer and
breaks up stubborn obstructions. (A separate suction pump or air flow
devices may also be used to suck the dislodged material). The entire
equipment is usually mounted on a heavy truck chassis with either a
separate prime mover or a power take off for the suction device. The high
pressure hose reel is also hydraulically driven. The truck also carries fresh
water tanks for the hydraulic jet and a tank for the removed sludge and the
various controls grouped together for easy operation during sewer cleaning.
The manufactures operating and servicing manuals should be carefully
followed for best results in the use of the machine.
Suction Units (Gully Emptier)15 - Suction units create vacuum required for
siphoning of mud, slurry, grit and other materials from sanitary, storm and
combined sewerage systems. The vacuum created is such as to siphon the
materials from the manholes, catch pits etc., having depth ranging from 1 m
to 8 m in normal cases with an option to suck additional 4 m with the help of
special accessories for the purpose. The unit can be vehicle or trolley
mounted. Slit and heavy particles settled at the bottom can be agitated and
14

Details from 14 Draft Safety Manual for Construction and Maintenance of UGD Lines and Septic

tanks in the limits of Urban Local Bodies, 2012 of Government of Karnataka

15

ibid

19

loosened by pressurized air with the help of the pump and then sucked in a
tank. Once the silt tank is full, the effluent is discharged in the nearby storm
water drain or manhole, and the operation is repeated till the manhole is
cleared off the silt. The silt deposited in the tank is then emptied at the
predetermined dumping spot. This machine is very much useful in desalting
surcharged manholes and in routine course the manholes can be silted
without the workers getting down into the manhole.
The average cost of a combined unit of suction cum jetting machine of
8500 litres capacity (5000 litres jetting, 3500 litres suction) is around
INR 19-20 lakhs (excluding truck chassis)16.
Rehabilitation of Sewage Workers
To pull manual scavengers out of the viscous vortex of caste and economic
exploitation, a proper rehabilitation mechanism is necessary. The Manual
Scavenging act and recent supreme court (Writ Petition (Civil) No. 583 Of
2003) judgement puts down various rehabilitation measures for manual
scavengers which include cash assistance, self-employment schemes,
vocational training and skill development government scholarship for their
children and residential plot.
As Samuel Sathyaseelan argues17;
Sewer workers liberation will come only when we acquire
necessary technological changes, which will then render the
occupation humane, dignified and safe in ways which completely
avoid any direct human contact with excreta. The liberation of
these workers cannot be conceptualised in isolation because they
16

The cost of the equipment is based on two quotations received from suppliers based
in Delhi.
17
Sathyaseelan, Samuel (2013) Neglect of Sewage Workers Economic & Political
Weekly, XLIII (49). 33-37

20

will lose their only source of income without a meticulous road

map for meaningful rehabilitation as proposed for manual
scavengers. The workers in regular or contract employment must
not be terminated; rather they must all be given regular
employment.
JNU administration should ensure that the JNU sewage workers are
trained in the operation of suction and jetting machine which should
be used to clean sewers and septic tanks in the campus.

Demands
In view of The Prohibition of Employment as Manual Scavengers and
Their Rehabilitation Act of 2013, Contract Labour (Regulation &
Abolition) Central Rules of 1971, Supreme Court judgements viz. Writ
Petition (Civil) No. 583 Of 2003, Civil Appeal No.5322 and Consumer
Education & Research Centre vs Union Of India & Others of 2011, the
practices of manual scavenging and hazardous cleaning is a crime. JNU
administration being the principal employer should take recognition
of the practices of manual scavenging and hazardous cleaning
happening in JNU campus and has following obligations ;
1. Abolishing manual scavenging and hazardous cleaning of
sewers and septic tanks in JNU campus
2. Use of modern technology (like suction machine, jetting
machines etc.) for cleaning of sewers and septic tanks.
3. Rehabilitation of all sewage workers in JNU
4. Providing all protective and safety equipment as specified in
The Prohibition of Employment as Manual Scavengers and
Their Rehabilitation Rules of 2013. Providing safety gloves
(rubber), safety gumboots and facemasks to all sanitation
workers in JNU.
5. Providing medical facility to all workers in JNU.
21

By the time the report had been prepared the university administration had
been forced to concede to few demands of the workers and provide some
protective clothing/equipment to the sanitation workers. This happened
because of the consistent and combined struggle of workers, students and
teachers; it still remains a distant dream to see JNU become a manual
scavenging and hazardous cleaning free campus. We all need to remain
vigilant so that the JNU administration does not go back on its promises
and build collective struggles towards eliminating such practices and
protecting the rights of the workers.
Manual scavenging is a nationwide problem that will not end with just
ending manual scavenging in JNU. But a successful abolishment of manual
scavenging, and rehabilitation of workers in JNU can act as a model for all
the struggles across the nation for ending manual scavenging and their
rehabilitation. This struggle has to go hand in hand with the struggle to
annihilate caste and ensure rights of all the workers.

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