NEW DELHI: The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) will hold a meeting with the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment this week to brainstorm on how the practice of manual scavenging can be clamped down at the grassroots level.
The Prohibition of Employment as Manual Scavengers and their Rehabilitation Act, 2013, outlaws manual scavenging. However, the ground reality is different. With the practice being a gross violation of human rights, the Commission has decided to deliberate on it, said an NHRC official.
“The Commission has called the concerned ministry for discussion. The NHRC holds discussion on various human rights issues. Manual scavenging is an issue that the Commission has discussed over the years. Based on discussions, the Commission comes out with suggestions,” said the official.
The ministry is likely to present a historical background of all schemes surrounding rehabilitation of manual scavengers, the official figures that have emerged from the ongoing survey and the government’s action plan.