The Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment (MoSJE) has formulated a scheme “National Action for Mechanized Sanitation Ecosystem” (NAMASTE). The Scheme envisages enumeration of the Sewer/Septic Tank Workers (SSWs).
A National level competition titled “Safaimitra Suraksha Challenge (SSC)” was launched on 19th November 2020. The overall objective was to ensure zero human casualty from hazardous entry, going forward, by ensuring elimination of manual entry into sewers and septic tanks, and in such cases where manual entry is unavoidable, to do so outfitted with PPEs and safety kits, with adequate approval, training and supervision.
The focus areas of the Challenge for all participating cities across all States/ UTs were the following:
(a) thrust on mechanized cleaning of sewers & septic tanks.
(b) availability of protective gears & equipment in case manual entry is unavoidable.
(c) creation of conducive eco-system through:
(i) Trained workforce,
(ii) 24×7 helpline, with large scale citizen outreach,
(iii) Empanelling of private operators.
This information was given by the Minister of State for Social Justice and Empowerment, Shri Ramdas Athawale in a written reply in Lok Sabha, on Tuesday.
