In an effort to ensure elimination of hazardous manual cleaning of sewers, septic tanks and drains, Delhi Lt Governor (LG) VK Saxena has approved a Delhi Government proposal to nominate the District Magistrates (DM) as Responsible Sanitation Authority (RSA) in their respective jurisdiction. They will establish emergency response sanitation units (ERSU) for doing away with dangerous manual cleaning of sewers.
Giving details of the decision here on Thursday, officials also said the proposal was submitted to the LG after a delay of almost three years. The LG office received the proposal in the last week of January despite the fact that Government of India and the Prime Minister himself had also reviewed the progress made on the issue on 02.06.2022, and the Administrative Department, GNCTD submitting a status report in this regard.
To effectively address the menace of manual scavenging and addressing the needs of one of the most marginalized sections of the society, a Group of Ministers (GoM), set up by the Government of India in its meeting held on 19.02.2020, had decided that DMs in every district should be designated as the RSA with the role and responsibility clearly defined as per the provisions of “The Prohibition of Employment as Manual Scavengers and Their Rehabilitation (PEMSR) Act, 2013.
Further, through an e-mail dated 20.05.2022 the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs informed that that the UT Government was bound by directives of the GOM which stated that each Distinct Magistrate/DC will be nominated as the RSA and there will be an ERSU in each district and an additional ERSU in district which caters to only the sanitation needs of any Municipal Corporation within the district.