After the Prohibition of Employment as Manual Scavengers and their Rehabilitation Act came into force last December, over 11,000 manual scavengers have been identified by 23 States. The survey is in progress.
On Thursday, Union Minister of Social Justice and Empowerment Thaawar Chand Gehlot chaired the second meeting of the Central Monitoring Committee to review the implementation of the Act, an official statement said. The Act aims at eliminating manual scavenging and rehabilitation of those involved in the inhuman practice.
So far, 4.15 lakh dry latrines from which human waste is manually cleared or flushed into open drains have been identified in seven States.
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Five States have started paying a one-time cash assistance to those identified for rehabilitation. Mr. Gehlot asked the States to expedite the implementation of the Act and pay Rs. 10 lakh each in compensation in cases of sewer deaths since 1993, under Supreme Court guidelines.
All States and Union Territories will be advised to implement the provisions of the Act in time-bound manner.