4K sanitation workers in Delhi to get PPE kits with 42 safety items

The kits are expected to be distributed before the onset of heavy rains, when manual sewer and septic tank cleaning becomes most dangerous.

Departments have been instructed to speed up training and rehabilitation programmes and establish Emergency Response Sanitation Units.

NEW DELHI: As the monsoon approaches, the Delhi government has announced the distribution of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) kits to nearly 4,000 manual scavengers across the city, a first-of-its-kind initiative aimed at improving safety conditions for sanitation workers. The move comes under the Centre’s ‘Namaste’ (National Action for Mechanised Sanitation Ecosystem) scheme, launched in 2023-24 to promote secure, mechanised and dignified sanitation practices.

Each PPE kit will contain 42 safety items, including gas masks, helmets with lights, gloves, gumboots, protective suits, and barrier creams designed to guard against hazardous gases and skin infections. The kits are expected to be distributed before the onset of heavy rains, when manual sewer and septic tank cleaning becomes most dangerous.

Delhi’s Social Welfare Minister Ravinder Indraj Singh said that directives had been issued to ensure all sanitation workers are also enrolled under the Ayushman Bharat health insurance scheme.

Departments have been instructed to speed up training and rehabilitation programmes and establish Emergency Response Sanitation Units. District magistrates have been told to settle all pending compensation cases related to sewer deaths in a time-bound manner. “The safety of every sanitation worker is our priority. They must have access to PPE kits and health insurance before the monsoon,” Singh said.

However, the announcement has sparked criticism from activists who argue that the state should move beyond temporary safety measures. Bezwada Wilson, founder of the Safai Karamchari Andolan, welcomed the distribution of safety gear but said it doesn’t address the root of the problem.

“This step is welcome, but it still does not prevent the deaths of manual scavengers,” Wilson said, calling for the complete mechanisation of sewer cleaning in compliance with the Prohibition of Employment as Manual Scavengers and Their Rehabilitation Act, 2013.

Wilson also highlighted grim statistics: 102 manual scavengers died in 2023, 116 in 2024, and 30 have died in 2025 so far, including four deaths in Delhi alone. “The focus must shift from protective gear to ending the practice altogether,” Wilson stressed.