The Delhi High Court on Wednesday directed the municipal bodies of the Capital to conduct a survey of manual scavengers, which should be completed within two months, and prepare their final list providing them with a rehabilitation package.
A Division Bench of Justice B.D. Ahmed and Justice Sanjeev Sachdeva said there was no improvement in the condition of manual scavengers because the municipal authorities had so far failed to carry out a survey in the manner prescribed in the Act of 2013, prohibiting their employment in carrying night soil.
“The very survey required to be carried out under the Act for the purpose of identification of manual scavengers has not been done in terms of the procedure, including content, methodology and time-line as prescribed,” observed the Bench while hearing a public interest litigation.
The survey would be the first step towards rehabilitation of manual scavengers, which could be done after their final list was published, said the Court.
The Court asked the three municipal corporations, the New Delhi Municipal Council and the Delhi Cantonment Board to conduct the survey.
There was no improvement in the condition of manual scavengers because the municipal authorities had so far failed to carry out a survey in the manner prescribed in the Act of 2013
