Survey to rehabilitate manual scavengers

• The state began a national survey to identify and rehabilitate manual scavengers who are still engaged in servicing insanitary latrines, following directions of the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment in January.
• The Punjab state will conduct the survey in four districts - Jalandhar, Ludhiana, Sangrur and Fatehgarh Sahib.
• According to a recent report tabled in the Lok Sabha, Punjab is among the top five states to have the highest number of manual scavenging households.
• As per the data, Punjab till date has over 11,951 households that are dependent on manual scavenging.
• Besides, the Socio Economic and Caste Census (SECC) conducted in 2011 revealed that there are over 91 manual scavengers working in Punjab, a claim refuted by Union Minister of State for Social Justice and Empowerment Vijay Sampla, who said the number could be more than what the Census had thrown up, especially in urban areas.

The numbers:

• Households dependent on manual scavenging in Punjab: 11,951 (As per report tabled in LS)
• Manual scavengers in the state: 91 (As per Socio Economic and Caste Census, 2011)

By: Dr. Vivek Rana