While estimates of the number of manual scavengers across the country vary widely, 13,973 manual scavengers have been identified as on December 8, 2018, according to data given by the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment. Here’s a look at the current scenario and the progress of rehailitation measures.
Lives lost
The highest number of sewer deaths were in Gujarat (26) from 2015-18. The least number of deaths were recorded in West Bengal, Tripura, and Madhya Pradesh (two in each State).
Highest and lowest numbers
Uttar Pradesh has the highest number of identified manual scavengers (11,563). Chhattisgarh (3) and Madhya Pradesh (36) have the lowest.
| State | No. of manual scavengers |
|---|---|
| Uttar Pradesh | 11563 |
| Karnataka | 732 |
| Tamilnadu | 363 |
| Rajasthan | 338 |
| Orissa | 237 |
| Assam | 154 |
| Bihar | 137 |
| Uttrakhand | 137 |
| West Bengal | 104 |
| Punjab | 91 |
| Andhra Pradesh | 78 |
| Madhya Pradesh | 36 |
| Chhattisgarh | 3 |
| Total | 13973 |
Rehabilitation measures
The number of one-time cash assistance beneficiaries peaked in 2015-16, but has shown a downward trend (data as on Feb 20, 2018). The beneficiaries of skill development training spiked in 2016-17, but fell the next year. The number of capital subsidy beneficiaries has been coming down, as shown in the graph.
Self-employment budget
The plunge in the budget allocated for self-employment schemes of manual scavengers has been steep. From Rs 448 crore in 2014, it fell by 98% to Rs 5 crore in 2017.
Minister of State for Social Justice, Ramdas Athawle cited the corpus funds already available with the National Safai Karmacharis Finance and Development Corporation as the reason behind the reduction in the budget allocation for the Self Employment Scheme for Rehabilitation of Manual Scavengers.
