Gujarat HC seeks ‘blueprint’ from state in 4 weeks to fully eradicate manual scavenging

During Monday’s hearing of Public Interest Litigation regarding the deaths due to manual scavenging, the Gujarat High Court bench of Chief Justice Sunita Agarwal and Justice D N Patel directed the state government to submit a concrete blueprint to ensure the permanent eradication of manual scavenging across the state. 

“We want to know the stance of state authorities on the whole issue, as repeated incidents in municipalities and corporations, and that too like Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation, are very disappointing,” said Chief Justice Agarwal.

She also said that some concrete steps are to be taken at the end of the commission involving the principal secretary, urban housing development, or the commissioner of municipalities. 

Considering the monsoon season, Agarwal urged the municipalities to reveal if they do not have the “bare minimum” equipment to clean the manholes.

The Chief Justice directed the principal secretary to prepare a ‘blueprint’ as to ‘how they will equip’. “This should be eradicated,” said Agarwal, pointing out the issue of manual scavenging. 

Manual scavenger’s death in Ahmedabad

During the hearing, the court inquired about the action taken against the contractor involved in the death of a sanitation worker during manual scavenging in the Judges Bungalow area. 

In response, the government stated that the responsible contractor was found guilty, declared ineligible, and blacklisted. Additionally, contractors are now required to provide a written assurance that no worker will be sent into gutters or made to engage in manual scavenging. The high court also rebuked the AMC for not paying compensation to the worker’s family. 

The HC scheduled the next hearing of the PIL after four weeks and demanded a ‘concrete plan’ from the state.