Gujarat HC rebukes state for delayed compensation of dead sanitation workers
Chief Justice Sunita Agarwal and Justice Aniruddha P Mayee was hearing a PIL filed by an Ahmedabad-based NGO Manav Garima
Updated: Jan 4th, 2024
The Gujarat High Court rebuked the Gujarat government on Jan 3 for its prolonged delay in compensating the families of the deceased manual scavenging victims.
The bench comprising Chief Justice Sunita Agarwal and Justice Aniruddha P Mayee was hearing a 2016 PIL (Manav Garima Vs State of Gujarat) filed by an Ahmedabad-based NGO, Manav Garima.
The PIL sought implementation of the Prohibition of Employment as Manual Scavengers and their Rehabilitation Act, 2013 and payment of compensation to the workers who lost their lives due to manual scavenging.
From the petitioners’ side
Counsel Subramaniam Iyer, representing the petitioners, cited the Supreme Court’s directives in the case of Dr Balram Singh Vs Union of India, where the compensation for victims has been increased from ₹10 lakh (in 1993) to ₹30 lakh. He further said that compensation, however, has not been paid in the current case.
After discussing a recent incident of death due to manual scavenging in Bhavnagar, the bench asked an additional public prosecutor about the status of payment for 16 sanitation workers who died between 1993 and 2014.
The additional public prosecutor stated that only eight individuals had not been paid as per their updated records. Expressing dissatisfaction, the chief justice rebuked the additional public prosecutor, saying, “What do you mean by update list? Come out with specific names as to how many out of these 16 you are paying, how many you are not paying, and why you are not paying. Where is the detail?”
Moreover, the chief justice ordered the principal secretary of the urban development and urban housing departments to present a report and affidavit explaining why the dependents of the 16 sanitation workers who died between 1993 and 2014 while manual scavenging were not yet paid compensation.
