Death of sanitation workers: Union government-commissioned audit slams Maharashtra authorities

A Union governmentcommissioned social audit across Mumbai Pune Parbhani Satara and Shirur has exposed critical failures by authorities and contractors in protecting sanitation workers in Maharashtra 18 of whom died between 2021 and 2024The Social Audit Report On The Death Of Sanitary Workers 202124 by the Maharashtra State Society for Social Audit and Transparency a unit established on directives of Union Ministry of Rural Development also pulled up urban local bodies ULBs for failing to formally register workers which left them without legal protection or access to welfare schemesThe audit said safety protocols protective gear and emergency response mechanisms were largely absent in all the five places surveyed despite there being a clear legal obligation under Prohibition of Employment as Manual Scavengers and Their Rehabilitation PEMSR Act 2013In Parbhani Mumbai and other districts workers were made to clean sewers and septic tanks without basic safety gear No firstaid kits or emergency rescue equipment were found at worksites Several deaths occurred due to inhalation of toxic gasesThis violated of PEMSR Acts section 7 which prohibited hazardous manual cleaning it saidThe audit showed a complete lack of mandatory training for sanitary workers no pretask safety training or risk assessmentIn Loni Kalbhor and Mumbai workers died because they were unaware of the dangers involved in the work said the audit report which also discussed the compensation package offered to sanitary workers who either lost their lives or sustained permanent injuries including disabilityCompensation to families of deceased workers was delayed or misappropriated in several cases A survivor suffered permanent eye damage and remained undocumented without any help from authorities In Mumbai families were reportedly misled about the amount of compensation the report assertedThe report which has been submitted to the Union Ministry for Social Justice and Empowerment sheds light on the tragic deaths of 18 sanitation workers in Maharashtra over four years and underscored the systematic failures that continue to put their lives at riskThe Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment had directed to carry out this task of social audit of sanitary workers in MaharashtraAs per the directives of the ministry and the Supreme Court this social audit verified the circumstances surrounding these deaths safety protocols and the level of accountability of employers and urban local bodiesThe findings reveal glaring deficiencies in protective measures legal compliance and rehabilitation efforts highlighting the urgent need for reformThe report also highlighted negligence by contractors and poor oversight by local authoritiesIn Mumbai and Ranjangaon Pune district sanitation work was outsourced to private contractors who failed to provide safety measures Municipal officials did not enforce contract conditions or ensure legal action in many cases the report saidThe audit further pointed out that sanitation workers in Parbhani Mumbai and Pune were employed informally without contracts or registration under local bodiesThis left them without legal rights access to benefits or support in case of accidents it addedThe report called for urgent reforms including mechanised sewer cleaning strict enforcement of safety laws regular medical checkups as well as social security benefitsIt recommended that sanitation work be recognised as formal employment and that workers be linked to government welfare schemesQuoting the World Health Organization the report said Sanitation workers remained invisible unquantified neglected and ostracised facing conditions that exposed them to debilitating infections injuries stigma and even deathThe social audit report concluded that the 18 deaths were not isolated incidents but reflected a systemic failureMany of these deaths could have been prevented with proper safety measures training and mechanised cleaning systems it statedThe audit urged the state to go beyond compensation and provide full rehabilitation including employment for families support for addiction recovery and awareness campaigns about workers rightsIt said the issue is not just as a policy failure but a deep human rights concern requiring immediate actionThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoeveratOptionskeyd0ddb8ef8f1a62a8cdd22fac27fc5ea7formatiframeheight90width728params