The Union Cabinet on Wednesday approved a three-year extension of the tenure of the National Commission for Safai Karamcharis that was set to end on March 31.
The Cabinet, at a meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, approved the extension at a cost of ₹43.68 crore.
The commission was set up in 1993 under the NCSK Act 1993 for a period of three years, which has been extended since then, despite the Act ceasing to have effect from February 29, 2004.
“After that, the tenure of the NCSK has been extended as a non-statutory body from time to time through resolutions,” a government statement said.
The commission helps in coming up with programmes for the welfare of sanitation workers and also monitors the implementation of the Prohibition of Employment as Manual Scavengers and their Rehabilitation Act, 2013. Till December 31, 2021, 58,098 manual scavengers had been identified.
“Though the government has taken many steps for the upliftment of the safai karamcharis, the deprivation suffered by them in socio-economic and educational terms is still far from being eliminated. Although manual scavenging has been almost eradicated, sporadic instances do occur…Hence, the government feels that there is a continued need to monitor the various interventions and initiatives of the government for welfare of safai karamcharis and to achieve the goal of complete mechanisation of sewer/septic tanks cleaning in the country and rehabilitation of manual scavengers,” the statement read.
Published - January 19, 2022 05:43 pm IST
