New Delhi: A total of 332 sanitation workers lost their lives while cleaning sewers and septic tanks across the country between 1 January, 2021 and 30 June, 2026, the government informed Lok Sabha Tuesday.
Replying to an unstarred question by DMK MP D Ravi Kumar, Minister of State for Social Justice and Empowerment Ramdas Athawale said the figures were reported by the National Commission for Safai Karamcharis (NCSK).
Maharashtra recorded the highest number of deaths at 58, followed by Haryana at 47, Tamil Nadu at 38 and Uttar Pradesh at 37. Delhi reported 29 deaths, Gujarat 27 and Rajasthan 23. Madhya Pradesh and West Bengal each recorded 13, while Karnataka and Punjab reported 12 each. Telangana recorded 9, Andhra Pradesh 5, Dadra and Nagar Haveli 3, and Bihar and Odisha 2 each. Goa and Jharkhand reported one death each.
On action against those responsible, the minister said, “During last five years, 193 FIRs have been lodged in concerned States/UTs.”
Asked whether the government had evaluated the implementation of mechanised sewer cleaning across states, Athawale replied, “No, Sir.”
On steps taken to end the practice, the minister cited the Prohibition of Employment as Manual Scavengers and their Rehabilitation Act, 2013, under which manual scavenging has been banned since 6 December, 2013. “No person or agency can engage or employ any person for manual scavenging after the above date,” he said, adding that a violation was punishable under Section 8 of the Act with imprisonment up to two years or a fine up to Rs one lakh or both.
The minister said no manual scavenging had been recorded in a recent survey. “No report of the practice of manual scavenging has been received in the recent survey conducted in all Districts.”
Responding to a separate question by Lok Sabha MPs Appalanaidu Kalisetti and Byreddy Shabari, Athawale said surveys to identify manual scavengers were conducted in 2013 and 2018, with 44217 identified in the latter exercise. Uttar Pradesh accounted for the highest at 20884, followed by Maharashtra at 6325 and Uttarakhand at 4854. Andhra Pradesh reported 1734, of which 1231 were in Anantpur district.
“Recently, a fresh survey of manual scavengers, as per the provisions of the Prohibition of Employment as Manual Scavengers and their Rehabilitation Act, 2013 has been conducted in all districts of the country in which no manual scavenger has been found,” the minister said.
On the National Action for Mechanised Sanitation Ecosystem (NAMASTE) scheme, launched in 2023 to provide safety and dignity to sewer and septic tank workers (SSWs), the minister said 89915 workers had been validated and 87037 PPE kits provided across states and union territories. Uttar Pradesh recorded the highest validation at 12463, followed by Maharashtra at 8782 and Gujarat at 7648.
In Andhra Pradesh, 4,052 SSWs were validated and 4,005 PPE kits provided, with Visakhapatnam recording the highest at 533.
A total of 753 safety devices were provided to Emergency Response Sanitation Units (ERSUs) under the scheme, which are set up by states and union territories as per guidelines of the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs. The devices include safety helmets with torch, safety tripods, axial fan blowers, anti-static conduits, full body wader suits and multi-gas detectors.
The minister said NAMASTE was a Central Sector Scheme with no provision for state-wise allocation of funds. Rs 30.06 crore was released and spent in 2023-24, Rs 47.625 crore released against Rs 35.64 crore spent in 2024-25, and Rs 97.6791 crore released and spent in 2025-26. For 2026-27, Rs 28.30 crore has been released so far, against expenditure of Rs 12.45 crore.
(Edited by Niyati Kothiyal)
India is an undeveloped country. Hence, mechanised cleaning of sewers cannot be done.