Almost a month after Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal flagged off 200 sewer cleaning machines on February 28, family members of some workers who died while cleaning sewers or septic tanks — the stated priority for the scheme — are yet to be handed over the machines.
After a spate of deaths of workers cleaning drains and tanks over the past few years, the Aam Aadmi Party government had decided to procure 200 sewer cleaning machines in order to end the practice of manual scavenging. The government was to give these machines to survivors and family members affected by these incidents as the first priority.
Govt assistance
After that, the machines would be handed over to those from Scheduled Castes and engaged in manual scavenging. While others would be assisted by the government to get loans to purchase the machines, one survivor and seven next of kin of the sewer death cases were to be given the machines for free.
The Hindu contacted six of the eight beneficiaries listed by the government. They all said they had not received the machines as on Tuesday, while the remaining two could not be contacted.
The vice-chairperson of the Delhi Jal Board, which is the agency responsible for the scheme, Dinesh Mohaniya, could not be reached for comment.
Manoj Kumar, the president of the Delhi chapter of the Dalit Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (DICCI), which is facilitating the scheme along with the DJB, said there were nine families, of those who had died while cleaning sewers and tanks, who are the first priority for the scheme.
He said three of the families had received the machines, while the remaining would be handed over the machines by the first week of April.
On August 6, 2017, Rakesh, a Khichripur resident, survived while three of his colleagues died of suffocation when they were cleaning a DJB sewer in Lajpat Nagar. He said he had attended the event where Mr. Kejriwal flagged off the sewer cleaning machines, but was not informed of when he would get possession of the machine.
“My health suffered after the incident. But, I am still doing the same work as a daily wager. While the families of the three men who died received ₹10 lakh from the government, I did not receive any help. Now, I have been told the machine will be given soon,” he said.
Another would-be beneficiary, Ajay Kumar, whose brother Joginder was among the three killed in the Lajpat Nagar incident, said he had heard that those who had “paid the first instalment” for their machines had got them.
“My number has not come yet. Recently, I was told that I should get the machine in a few days. I also used to do the same work as my brother, but I stopped going into sewers the day he died,” he said, adding that he was working as a driver now.
Preeti, whose husband Mohan died in the Lajpat Nagar case, said she did not know when the machine would be handed over to her, but had heard that “it has been passed”.
Rekha, who lost her husband Annu in the incident, said she had no idea about the machine, but had been told that a company would operate the vehicle-mounted cleaner and give monthly payments to her.
Family members of two men who were among the four who died while cleaning a septic tank in Ghitorni on July 15, 2017, also said they were yet to receive the machines.
Maya Kaur, whose son Indervir died in the Ghitorni incident, said she had gone to the DICCI office recently and was informed that the machines would be given soon. Another victim of the Ghitorni incident, Swaran Singh’s son Jaspal Singh said his mother, Gurmeet Kaur, who is the listed beneficiary, was yet to get the machine as well.
