The Madras High Court Bench here on Friday directed the Centre as well as State Government to consider granting a compensation of Rs.10 lakh to the mother of a scavenger who died due to asphyxiation while cleaning a septic tank in Ramanathapuram district on October 13, 2004.
Disposing of a writ petition filed by P. Valaikka (68), Justice R. Mahadevan ordered that her plea should be considered in the light of a 2014 judgment of the Supreme Court which had ordered for awarding a compensation of Rs.10 lakh each to families of all those who died in sewage work since 1993.
In her affidavit, the petitioner, belonging to Arunthathiyar community, stated that her son P. Arumugam was eking out a living through manual scavenging. He was engaged by the municipality as well as private individuals for works such as cleaning septic tanks and removing human excreta from dry toilets.
He was married and his wife was pregnant when he unfortunately got trapped while cleaning a septic tank and died due to asphyxiation despite efforts taken by the Fire and Rescue Services personnel to save him. The police too registered a case.
“After the death, his wife delivered a baby girl and left the child to be taken care of by the petitioner before stepping out of the matrimonial house to marry another person. Since then, the aged petitioner has been taking care of her granddaughter with great difficulties,” petitioner’s counsel R. Karunanithi said.
He pointed out that the Supreme Court judgment delivered on March 27 last year by a three-judge Bench led by the then Chief Justice P. Sathasivam in Safai Karamchari Andolan’s case had come as a great relief for hundreds of such victims of the inhumane practice of manual scavenging.
In the judgment, the apex court had directed all State governments and Union Territories to implement effectively the provisions of the Employment of Manual Scavengers and Construction of Dry Latrines (Prohibition) Act, 1993 besides initiating action against violators of the law.
Apart from the legal provisions, the court went a step ahead and ordered that families of all those who died in sewage works, such as cleaning manholes and septic tanks, since the enactment of the law in 1993 must be identified and paid a compensation of Rs.10 lakh each.
“The petitioner made a representation to the Union Ministry of Social Justice as well as Municipal Administration Department of the State Government on September 19, 2014 to pay her the compensation as directed by the Supreme Court. But nothing transpired till date,” counsel said.
He died of asphyxiation while cleaining a septic tank in Ramanathapuram in 2004
