Manual scavenging in India: A deadly practice that refuses to die

Stricter enforcement of safety standards needed

Manual scavenging continues in India due to systemic neglect, poor enforcement, and societal stigma. Experts stress the urgent need for proper enforcement to ensure implementation of the existing safety standards along with mechanised sanitation, policy reforms, and social change to end this inhumane practice.

Manual scavenging continues to claim lives in India, even in an era of advanced sanitation technology and strict legal prohibitions. Despite the availability of mechanised sewer-cleaning equipment and repeated government crackdowns, workers, mostly from marginalised communities, are still being forced to descend into toxic, gas-filled drains and septic tanks, often without any protective gear.

This inhumane practice, officially banned for decades, persists due to systemic negligence, lack of enforcement, and a deep-rooted caste-based hierarchy.

The recent deaths of three workers in Kolkata, just days after the Supreme Court’s latest ban on manual sewer cleaning in six major metropolitan cities, serve as a grim reminder that laws alone are not enough.

There is significant disagreement over the exact number of people engaged in manual scavenging in India, reflecting both gaps in official data and the government’s reluctance to acknowledge the full extent of the crisis. In 2021, a federal minister informed parliament that 58,098 manual scavengers had been identified through government surveys, yet in the same statement, he claimed there were “no reports of the practice of manual scavenging currently in the country.” This contradiction highlights the systemic denial surrounding the issue.

In contrast, the Safai Karmachari Andolan, a grassroots movement advocating for the eradication of manual scavenging, estimates that over 770,000 people are still engaged in the practice. The disparity between official numbers and independent estimates suggests widespread underreporting, likely influenced by political and administrative pressure to project progress. Many cases remain undocumented as local authorities often fail to conduct proper surveys, while sanitation workers, mostly from marginalised communities, fear losing their livelihoods if they come forward. This lack of accurate data allows the government to avoid accountability, delaying critical policy interventions needed to eliminate manual scavenging and rehabilitate affected workers.

Beyond the numbers, the real cost of manual scavenging is measured in human lives, with deaths occurring at an alarming rate due to asphyxiation from toxic sewer gases. In July 2024, the government admitted that 339 people had died in the past five years while cleaning sewers and septic tanks, yet activists argue that even this figure is a gross undercount.

A report by the National Commission for Safai Karamcharis (NCSK) documented 928 sewer-related deaths between 1993 and 2020, with Tamil Nadu and Gujarat recording the highest fatalities. However, the actual death toll is likely much higher, as most affected workers are employed on a contract basis, making it easier for government officials and private contractors to evade responsibility. Many deaths go unreported or are classified under unrelated causes to avoid legal repercussions.

Families of victims often struggle to receive compensation, as contractors disown workers, claiming they were not officially employed. This exploitative system ensures that manual scavenging persists despite legal bans, leaving thousands of workers trapped in hazardous conditions with no safeguards, no dignity and no means of escape.

Despite repeated bans and legal measures, manual scavenging remains an inescapable reality in India, claiming hundreds of lives each year. While authorities continue to focus on compensation and regulations, little attention is given to technological solutions that can eliminate the practice altogether. Rakesh Kasba, Founder of Jalodbust, a company that manufactures an indigenous system for dislodging, liquefying, and removing faecal sludge from leach pits, septic tanks and manholes, replacing human involvement in hazardous cleaning, believes that the only way to truly eradicate manual scavenging is to replace hazardous labour with affordable, scalable, and effective sanitation technology.

He says his patented innovation aims to revolutionise sanitation by offering a safe and sustainable alternative to manual sewer cleaning but bureaucratic inefficiencies, funding constraints, and social stigma surrounding sanitation work are preventing large-scale implementation of such solutions.

“We have developed the system, a vehicle-mounted compact technology for sanitation, designed to completely eliminate the need for manual scavenging. It is an indigenously developed and patented technology, but despite receiving national and international recognition, we struggle to scale it up because no funding agency is willing to invest in sanitation solutions,” Kasba tells Media India Group.

According to him, the world needs 1 million units of sanipreneur, as the system has been called, to address the backlog of untreated waste in India alone, where 120 million leach-pit toilets, 30 million septic tanks and 250 million sewer manholes require cleaning. This machine, he claims, has the potential to generate a USD 20 billion sanitation business while providing stable livelihoods and dignity to sanitation workers.

Kasba is critical of the government’s reliance on compensation rather than prevention. “Why do we only talk about compensating the families of workers who die in sewers, when these deaths are entirely preventable? Instead of waiting for someone to die and then paying their family, why not focus on promoting life-saving technology? While the Manual Scavenging Act of 2013 provides legal provisions to punish those employing manual scavengers,” he adds.

Kasba points out that convictions are almost non-existent. “The process of filing an police case, conducting an investigation, and framing charges is so complicated that in most cases, the cause of death is assigned to something else, and justice is never served,” Kasba  adds.

He believes that unless affordable technological are mandated, the ban on manual scavenging will only lead to bribery and corruption rather than actual change.

The government’s ‘Namaste’ scheme, launched in July 2023, which aims to rehabilitate manual scavengers by offering loans to purchase sanitation equipment, is another initiative that, according to Kasba, has failed in practice.

“The scheme expects a manual scavenger to take a bank loan to buy equipment, but banks reject their applications because they are not considered creditworthy and those who are creditworthy are not manual scavengers, according to the response to a query under Right to Information (RTI) response, not a single sanitation worker has been able to secure the funds needed to buy a vehicle-mounted sanitation machine under the scheme, exposing the policy’s loopholes,” he adds.

Another major challenge is the reluctance of municipalities to adopt non-hazardous sanitation methods.

“Municipalities always complain about a shortage of funds, but they insist on handling sanitation themselves rather than allowing independent sanitation entrepreneurs to operate with safer, more efficient machines,” Kasba adds.

He says he believes that empowering sanitation workers as micro-entrepreneurs with affordable equipment that would provide a long-term solution, but government policies continue to favour inefficient, outdated systems.

“Even academia refuses to engage with solutions for manual scavenging. Once, a senior professor at IIT Kanpur declined to test our technology, saying that manual scavenging was already banned, so there was no need to work on it. Sanitation is seen as a ‘dirty’ sector, which is why funding agencies refuse to invest in it. They do not see it as a profitable business, and they fear delays in payments from municipalities. As a result, real solutions get ignored,” says Kasba.

“A ban alone cannot solve the problem because society still needs a sanitation solution. People will continue to pay labourers to enter sewers unless they have an alternative. If the government truly wants to eradicate manual scavenging, it must fund solutions like Sani-preneur through grants or royalty-based financing until a sustainable business model is established,’’ he adds.

Beyond the direct hazards of manual scavenging, Kasba points out its broader societal impact.

“Many sanitation workers develop substance abuse issues due to their profession. Even when they leave the job, addiction follows them, affecting their families and communities,” he explains.

Kasba challenges the idea that waste management can be a profitable business.

“Sanitation workers are forced to work for wages far below the norm, and any ‘value’ derived from waste is built on their underpaid labour. Without proper equipment and social integration, they are shunned from society, making it easier for the government to ignore their suffering,” he adds.

For Kasba, the solution is clear: “The Supreme Court must go beyond bans and insist that governments support solutions like technology through dedicated funding. Banks and venture capitalists are not interested in sanitation, so it falls on the government to provide financial backing. Until we prioritise innovation over outdated policies, manual scavenging will continue to claim lives,” says Kasba.

Uttam Banerjee, Co-Founder & CEO, Ekam Eco Solutions, an Indian startup that markets products related to ecological sanitation and sustainable living, believes that the problem is not just about the lack of laws or technology but deeply rooted in societal mindset and behaviour. Through his work in sustainable sanitation solutions, Banerjee has been advocating for the urgent need to replace manual scavenging with mechanised alternatives while ensuring dignity and respect for sanitation workers.

“The biggest challenge in eradicating manual scavenging is not just about technology or laws it is about how we see sanitation workers. They are often treated as invisible, looked down upon, and denied the respect they deserve. Despite performing an essential job that keeps our cities and homes clean, they face daily humiliation, exclusion, and loss of dignity. This deep-rooted social stigma is what keeps them trapped in this dangerous profession,” Banerjee tells Media India Group.

Banerjee emphasises that change must start with how society perceives sanitation workers.

“We need to stop seeing them as ‘someone else’s problem’ and recognise that they are human beings who deserve safety, dignity, and opportunities beyond sanitation work. A simple ‘thank you’, treating them with respect, and demanding better working conditions can go a long way in shifting mindsets,” he adds.

While social attitudes need to change, Banerjee also highlights the urgent need for stricter enforcement of laws. “Despite the legal ban, manual scavenging persists because of poor implementation, lack of alternatives and inadequate rehabilitation. The government must not only enforce these laws but also create better livelihood options so that workers are not forced back into this hazardous job due to financial insecurity,” he explains.

For Banerjee also, technology is the key to ending manual scavenging once and for all.

“Mechanised sewer-cleaning equipment exists, but it is massively underutilised due to cost barriers, lack of training, or sheer negligence. Authorities must make it mandatory to use machines instead of human labour for hazardous cleaning tasks. This is not just about modernisation, it is about saving lives,” Banerjee adds.

He also believes that individuals can contribute to change in simple yet impactful ways. “Many sanitation workers are forced to enter clogged drains because of how we dispose of waste. When we throw food waste, plastic, and hazardous materials into drains, we create blockages that require manual cleaning. By simply segregating our waste properly, we can help ensure that no human being has to risk their life inside a toxic sewer,” Banerjee adds.