Exposing a significant disparity in the representation of Scheduled Castes (SCs) within the workforce engaged in sewer and septic tank maintenance across India, official data has revealed that a staggering 67 per cent of sewer and septic tank workers (SSWs) in India belong to the Scheduled Caste category.

These government data were made available in Parliament by Union Minister of State for Social Justice and Empowerment Ramdas Athawale in a written response to a question in the Lok Sabha on Tuesday.

He said that out of 54,574 validated sewer and septic tank workers profiled under the 'National Action for Mechanised Sanitation Ecosystem' (NAMASTE) scheme, 37,060 are from the SC category.

The statistics further show that 15.73 per cent of the workers belong to the Other Backward Classes (OBCs), 8.31 per cent are from the Scheduled Tribes (STs), while only 8.05 per cent come from the General category.

 In total, 57,758 workers across 33 States and Union Territories have been profiled, out of which 54,574 have been validated. Data integration for states like Odisha and Tamil Nadu into the central NAMASTE database is currently underway.

The NAMASTE scheme, launched in 2023-24 by the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment in collaboration with the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA),  aims to mechanize sewer maintenance and eliminate the dangerous practice of manual scavenging.

A total of 16,791 PPE kits and 43 Safety Devices Kits for Emergency Response Sanitation Units (ERSUs) have been distributed. Ayushman cards for health insurance have been issued to 13,604 beneficiaries.

Capital subsidies totalling Rs 13.96 crore have been provided to 503 workers and their dependents for sanitation-related projects. An additional Rs 2.85 crore has been released to 226 beneficiaries from the manual scavenger category for alternate self-employment projects.

To raise awareness on the hazards of unsafe cleaning practices, 837 workshops have been conducted since the scheme's launch. Efforts to mechanise sanitation work and reduce hazardous manual cleaning have also been prioritised. Under the Swachh Bharat Mission Urban (SBM-U) 2.0, MoHUA has sanctioned Rs. 371 crore to 26 states and UTs for the procurement of 2,585 desludging vehicles.Under the NAMASTE programme, the government profiled workers engaged in septic and sewer tank cleaning comprehensively and aims to fully mechanise sewer maintenance and eliminate fatalities linked to dangerous cleaning practices.