Prohibition of Employment as Manual Scavengers Act, 2013

The Prohibition of Employment as Manual Scavengers and their Rehabilitation Act, 2013 prohibits employing people for manual scavenging and for hazardous cleaning of sewers and septic tanks. It also prohibits constructing insanitary latrines and provides for the rehabilitation of persons identified as manual scavengers.

Insanitary latrines and manual scavenging

Section 5 prohibits any person, local authority or agency from constructing an insanitary latrine or engaging or employing a manual scavenger, directly or indirectly.

• An insanitary latrine is one that requires human excreta to be cleaned or otherwise handled manually before it fully decomposes, either in the latrine itself or in an open drain or pit receiving its excreta.
• Manual scavenging covers manually cleaning, carrying, disposing of or otherwise handling undecomposed human excreta from an insanitary latrine, an associated open drain or pit, a railway track, or other spaces or premises notified by the appropriate government.
• Existing manual-scavenging engagements must be discontinued, and existing insanitary latrines must be demolished or converted into sanitary latrines within the statutory framework.
• The prohibition applies even when workers are engaged through contractors or other intermediaries; indirect employment does not avoid liability.

Hazardous cleaning of sewers and septic tanks

Section 7 prohibits any person, local authority or agency from engaging or employing anyone, directly or indirectly, for hazardous cleaning of a sewer or septic tank.

• Hazardous cleaning means manual cleaning where the employer has not fulfilled obligations concerning protective gear, other cleaning devices and prescribed safety precautions.
• This is distinct from the prohibition of manual scavenging: the Act does not describe every instance of manual sewer or septic-tank cleaning as prohibited, but prohibits such cleaning under hazardous conditions.
• Section 33 requires local authorities and other agencies to use appropriate technological appliances for cleaning sewers, septic tanks and other spaces under their control, with a view to eliminating manual handling of excreta.

Contracts and penalties

Section 6 makes pre-existing contracts or agreements for manual scavenging void, without compensation for their termination.

• Contravention of Sections 5 or 6 attracts, for a first offence, imprisonment up to one year, a fine up to ₹50,000, or both.
• Contravention of Section 7 attracts, for a first offence, imprisonment up to two years, a fine up to ₹2 lakh, or both.
• Repeat offences attract higher maximum punishments under the Act.