VIJAYAWADA: The Andhra Pradesh High Court has issued landmark directives to ensure the welfare of sanitation workers, mandating substantial compensation and rehabilitation for those who die while cleaning manholes.
The court ruled that all sanitation workers, who accidentally die while doing such hard tasks, are entitled to a compensation of Rs 30 lakh, as per the Supreme Court norms, along with comprehensive rehabilitation. This directive extends beyond the current case of Meda Manikyala Rao to include all similar deaths since 1983.
The court instructed the Commissioner of Municipal Administration to collect data on such fatalities from all the urban local bodies as well as from workers’ unions to facilitate provision of compensation and rehabilitation of the affected families.
It emphasised identifying the agencies or authorities under which the deceased worked to ensure accountability. The court warned that officials of urban local bodies could be held liable for such deaths with adverse entries in their service records potentially barring future promotions.
In the case of Manikyala Rao, the court ordered the State government to pay Rs 30 lakh to his family, provide a job to his wife, and impart education and skill training to his children. With Rs 10 lakh already disbursed, the remaining Rs 20 lakh should be paid within a month, the court ordered.
The bench, comprising Chief Justice Dhiraj Singh Thakur and Justice ChRavi, issued these orders recently following a PIL filed last year by retired Vijayawada employee Tutika Dalayya, highlighting the illegal practice of manual manhole cleaning in the Vijayawada Municipal Corporation despite mechanisation mandate.
The court condemned the continued reliance on manual cleaning, and scheduled the next hearing for July 16 to delve deeper into the issue. Advocate P Raviteja represented the petitioner.