BHOPAL: Union Minister Thawar Chand Gehlot said here today that steps are being taken to end manual scavenging under the 'Swachh Bharat Abhiyan' and that 250 women engaged in it are being given skill development training in Delhi.
"Two hundred and fifty women from the Valmiki community have been freed from manual scavenging and are being trained to repair motors and drive commercial vehicles. They are also being trained in martial arts to defend themselves," Union Social Justice and Empowerment Minister Gehlot said addressing the two-day national workshop on good practices in rural development here.
He said that according to the 2011 census, there are 26 lakh pit latrines in India which are manually scavenged by 1,80,000 people. "We have resolved to end manual scavenging under the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan," Gehlot said.
He said that people involved in removing raw human excreta in buckets from pit latrines are being identified after which a sum of Rs 40,000 would be deposited in their individual bank accounts to free them from the work.
During the second phase, Gehlot said that they would be given skill development training and an honorarium of Rs 3,000 each per month.
He said that 7,000 people engaged in human scavenging have been freed from the work in 12 states.