Transformative Schemes and Initiatives Against Manual Scavenging

Manual scavenging is not just a sanitation problem – it is one of India’s most persistent human rights failures. For decades, people from marginalized Dalit communities have been forced by caste and poverty to manually remove human excreta from dry latrines, open drains, sewers, and septic tanks, often without protective gear, decent wages, or any dignified alternative. The Employment of Manual Scavengers and Construction of Dry Latrines (Prohibition) Act, 1993 was India’s first formal legal step to ban this practice – but law alone was never going to be enough. What has evolved alongside the legislation is a range of government and non-government schemes aimed at the physical conversion of dry latrines and the holistic rehabilitation of manual scavengers. This post takes a close look at those schemes, what they promise, and how far they have delivered.

Why schemes were necessary alongside the law 🔗

The 1993 Act prohibited employing manual scavengers and constructing dry latrines, but it contained a fundamental gap: it offered no clear roadmap for the workers already trapped in the occupation. Simply banning a practice without addressing the structural conditions sustaining it – insanitary latrine infrastructure, lack of alternative livelihoods, entrenched caste hierarchies – was insufficient. Human Rights Watch documented that for years after the ban, funds meant for rehabilitation did not reach communities, dry latrines were not converted, and laws requiring conversion of insanitary toilets were simply not enforced. This made targeted schemes – covering infrastructure conversion, financial aid, skill training, and social support – an unavoidable necessity.

Conversion of dry latrines: the infrastructure front 🔗

As long as dry latrines exist, manual scavenging will continue. Machines cannot service a dry pit – it has to be a human hand. This made the physical conversion of insanitary latrines into pour-flush or twin-pit sanitary latrines a core priority.

Swachh Bharat Mission and latrine conversion 🔗

The Swachh Bharat Mission (SBM) became the primary vehicle for this. Under SBM (Urban), the Ministry of Urban Development provided a grant of Rs. 4,000 for the conversion of each insanitary latrine, with states required to contribute the balance. Under SBM (Gramin), the central government offered Rs. 9,000 and states contributed Rs. 3,000 for each conversion. According to PIB, under SBM (Gramin) alone, 1.89 lakh insanitary latrines were identified, of which 1.56 lakh were dry toilets and 1.13 lakh had been converted into sanitary latrines at the time of reporting. However, critics have pointed out that many toilets built under SBM used septic tank technologies that still require periodic emptying – potentially shifting rather than eliminating the problem. A 2019 report by the WHO, ILO, World Bank, and WaterAid warned that the large-scale construction of septic-tank-based toilets could actually expand the demand for hazardous sanitation work rather than reduce it. The SBM’s promotion of twin-pit technology – where waste moves to a compost chamber without human handling – is considered a more sustainable alternative in this regard.

Housing and infrastructure support 🔗

Separately, the Indira Awas Yojana of the Ministry of Rural Development provided for the construction and upgradation of housing, with a specific provision for identified manual scavengers. Manual scavengers were given priority coverage under the scheme for housing assistance of up to Rs. 75,000, irrespective of their Below Poverty Line (BPL) status. This recognized that rehabilitation must be residential and social, not merely occupational.

Self-Employment Scheme for Rehabilitation of Manual Scavengers (SRMS) 🔗

On the livelihoods side, the central government’s flagship scheme for decades was the Self-Employment Scheme for Rehabilitation of Manual Scavengers (SRMS), introduced in January 2007 and implemented through the National Safai Karamcharis Finance and Development Corporation (NSKFDC). The scheme underwent multiple revisions, with a significant overhaul aligned with the Prohibition of Employment as Manual Scavengers and their Rehabilitation Act, 2013.

Key components of SRMS 🔗

The revised SRMS offered a multi-pronged package of support to identified manual scavengers and their dependants. Its main components were:

• One-time cash assistance (OTCA): A lump sum of Rs. 40,000 was provided to each identified manual scavenger as immediate financial relief. According to PIB, by 2023, all 58,098 identified and eligible manual scavengers had received this assistance.
• Capital subsidy for self-employment: A credit-linked, upfront capital subsidy of up to Rs. 5 lakh was made available for self-employment projects costing up to Rs. 15 lakh. For group/SHG projects, the maximum project cost was Rs. 50 lakh. The subsidy was available for both general livelihood projects and sanitation-related enterprises.
• Skill development training: Training for up to two years was provided across a range of trades and industries – from repair shops and dhabas to horticulture and transport businesses – with a stipend of Rs. 3,000 per month during the training period. Trainees received government-recognized certificates upon completion.
• Health insurance: Families of identified manual scavengers were covered under Ayushman Bharat – Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB-PMJAY) for a period of five years, providing a crucial health safety net for one of India’s most medically vulnerable communities.

Identification of manual scavengers under SRMS was conducted through surveys by Urban Local Bodies (ULBs) and Gram Panchayats. Two major national surveys were conducted – in 2013 and 2018 – identifying a combined total of 58,098 eligible manual scavengers across 18 states. The scheme was implemented at the national level through NSKFDC, with State Channelising Agencies and banks as implementing partners at the state level.

Limitations of SRMS in practice 🔗

Despite its comprehensive design, SRMS faced serious implementation gaps. Critics noted that only 31% of identified manual scavengers actually benefited from the scheme, and barely 2% participated in skill training. The scheme’s loan-based model was also problematic – many manual scavengers, given their economic marginalization, were reluctant or unable to take on debt even with subsidy support. Gender sensitivity was another critical weakness: approximately 95-98% of dry-latrine manual scavengers are women, yet most scheme provisions and outreach were not designed with women as the primary target.

NAMASTE: the current framework 🔗

Recognizing that SRMS could not fully address the breadth of hazardous sanitation work – which had expanded beyond dry latrines to sewers and septic tanks – the government launched the National Action for Mechanised Sanitation Ecosystem (NAMASTE) scheme in July 2023. A joint initiative of the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment and the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, NAMASTE formally subsumed SRMS and extended its scope to cover Sewer and Septic Tank Workers (SSWs) as well. It is being implemented across all Urban Local Bodies in the country, with the Union Budget 2023-24 allocating Rs. 100 crore to the scheme.

What NAMASTE aims to achieve 🔗

NAMASTE sets out clear outcome targets: zero fatalities in sanitation work, no direct human contact with faecal matter, all sanitation work performed by skilled and certified workers, and sanitation workers collectivized into Self Help Groups (SHGs) to run viable sanitation enterprises. The scheme targets implementation across 500 cities notified under the AMRUT scheme, with the process of extending it to all ULBs already underway.

Core components of NAMASTE 🔗

NAMASTE operates through several integrated components. First, comprehensive profiling of SSWs is done through City NAMASTE Managers in partnership with ULBs, with the goal of building a verified national database. Second, occupational safety training and distribution of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) kits are provided to all identified SSWs. Third, health insurance under AB-PMJAY is extended to SSWs and their families. Fourth, the scheme promotes mechanisation – deploying sewer jetting machines, suction machines, and robotic equipment – to eliminate human entry into sewers entirely. Workers are trained as machine operators and technicians, which helps dismantle the social stigma attached to sanitation work. Fifth, capital subsidies are provided through NSKFDC for sanitation workers and their SHGs to procure mechanised sanitation equipment, fostering what the government terms “Sanipreneurs” – sanitation entrepreneurs. Sixth, extensive Information, Education, and Communication (IEC) campaigns are conducted through print, electronic, and social media by ULBs and NSKFDC to raise awareness among service seekers to hire registered, skilled sanitation workers rather than unorganized labour. NAMASTE also plans to cover waste pickers, targeting the profiling of 2.5 lakh waste pickers with occupational ID cards, PPE kits, health insurance, and capital subsidies to strengthen Dry Waste Collection Centres.

The Swachhata Udyami Yojana 🔗

Running alongside these schemes is the Swachhata Udyami Yojana (SUY), implemented by NSKFDC. SUY provides concessional loans to Safai Karamcharis, manual scavengers, and their dependants – as well as to Urban Local Bodies and other agencies – for the procurement of sanitation-related instruments and vehicles. Its twin objectives are cleanliness and sustainable livelihoods, specifically supporting the complete mechanisation of all sanitation cleaning operations. This scheme feeds directly into NAMASTE’s mechanisation agenda.

Non-government initiatives: civil society’s role 🔗

Government schemes have been supplemented – and in many ways pressured into existence – by civil society organizations whose on-ground work has been indispensable.

Safai Karamchari Andolan (SKA) 🔗

Founded by Ramon Magsaysay Award winner Bezwada Wilson, the Safai Karamchari Andolan has been among the most prominent voices demanding the eradication of manual scavenging. SKA has played a direct role in assisting manual scavengers to access rehabilitation schemes, filing public interest litigations, and documenting abuses on the ground. The organization was also part of the NITI Aayog task force constituted in 2017 to address manual scavenging.

Rashtriya Garima Abhiyan 🔗

The Rashtriya Garima Abhiyan, a national coalition of over 30 community-based organizations across 13 states, was founded in 2001 by Jan Sahas. Its mandate is the eradication of manual scavenging and the restoration of dignity for those who have been engaged in it. The Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment has formally associated Rashtriya Garima Abhiyan – alongside Safai Karamchari Andolan and Sulabh International – for the identification of manual scavengers and their rehabilitation on the ground. These NGOs serve as vital implementation partners for state and central government schemes, particularly in reaching communities that official surveys miss.

Sulabh International 🔗

Sulabh International contributed significantly to the infrastructure dimension of this problem by promoting affordable, pour-flush toilet technology as a practical alternative to dry latrines across India, especially in rural areas. Its model demonstrated that the conversion away from dry latrines was not just legally mandated but technically and financially feasible at scale.

What the data and ground reality tell us 🔗

Despite the layered architecture of these schemes, the gap between policy design and ground-level impact remains troubling. As of recent data, 530 out of 766 districts have reported themselves free of manual scavenging – but self-reporting by states is widely acknowledged to undercount the actual prevalence. The 2011 Census recorded over 26 lakh insanitary latrines in India. According to the 2019 WHO-ILO-World Bank report, a field study across four states found 1,686 manual scavengers still active, of whom 92% engaged in dry-latrine cleaning were women. The Supreme Court, in its 2014 landmark judgment in Safai Karamchari Andolan v. Union of India, directed that families of all persons who died in sewage work since 1993 be identified and paid compensation of Rs. 10 lakh each – a directive whose full implementation is still pending. The cumulative picture suggests that while schemes have reached a portion of the affected population and mechanisation is now a stated policy priority, consistent enforcement, adequate funding, gender-sensitive outreach, and real accountability mechanisms remain the weakest links in the chain.

Reading the schemes together 🔗

What the arc of these schemes – from SRMS to NAMASTE, from Swachh Bharat Mission to Sulabh International’s field work – reveals is that India has progressively recognized the need for a multidimensional approach. Physical infrastructure conversion addresses the demand side of manual scavenging. Financial aid addresses the immediate economic crisis of affected individuals. Skill training and capital subsidies open pathways to alternative livelihoods. Health insurance addresses the catastrophic health costs borne by these workers. And mechanisation, now central to NAMASTE, attacks the root of the problem – the existence of sanitation work that requires human bodies in hazardous spaces. Civil society adds the accountability and community trust that government surveys often fail to build. No single scheme is sufficient on its own. The question is whether, taken together, they are being implemented with the urgency and rigour that the scale of injustice demands.

What do you think? Given that the majority of dry-latrine manual scavengers are women, do India’s rehabilitation schemes adequately address gender-specific barriers to exit from the occupation? And with NAMASTE now making mechanisation the central policy goal, what responsibilities do Urban Local Bodies need to take on to ensure this does not remain a target on paper?

References

1. https://legislative.gov.in/actsofparliamentfromtheyear/employment-manual-scavengers-and-construction-dry-latrines-prohibition-act
2. https://www.hrw.org/report/2014/08/25/cleaning-human-waste/manual-scavenging-caste-and-discrimination-india
3. https://sbm.gov.in/
4. https://pibindia.wordpress.com/2015/08/14/freedom-from-manual-scavenging/
5. https://scroll.in/article/946746/indian-government-has-built-95-million-toilets-but-little-has-changed-for-manual-scavengers
6. https://nskfdc.nic.in/en/content/revised-srms/self-employment-scheme-rehabilitation-manual-scavengers-srms
7. https://www.pib.gov.in/PressReleaseIframePage.aspx?PRID=1942478
8. https://pwonlyias.com/current-affairs/manual-scavenger-sanitation/
9. https://socialjustice.gov.in/schemes/37
10. https://byjus.com/free-ias-prep/namaste-scheme-upsc-notes/
11. https://www.geojuristoday.in/post/from-the-sewer-to-the-system-how-india-reduced-manual-scavenging
12. https://vajiramandravi.com/current-affairs/manual-scavenging-in-india-530-districts-reported-as-free-of-the-practice/