Social Audit Exposes Safety Failures in Sewer Cleaning Deaths

On 22nd July 2025, the Union Government presented findings from a social audit in Parliament revealing that over 90% of sanitation workers who died during sewer or septic tank cleaning lacked basic safety gear or PPE kits.

Key Points:

Audit Scope: The Ministry of Social Justice commissioned the audit in September 2023 to examine 54 worker deaths across 17 districts in 8 States/UTs during 2022–2023.
Lack of Safety Gear: In 49 cases, workers had no equipment; in only one case were both gloves and gumboots used.
No Mechanisation or Training: 47 of 54 cases had no access to machines or safety gear; only one case had proper training.
Equipment Unreadiness: In 45 deaths, agencies had no preparedness for emergency or safe sewer cleaning operations.
Consent and Awareness: In 27 cases, no informed consent was taken; in 18, consent was uninformed. Awareness drives were minimal and incomplete, conducted in just 7 cases.
Hiring Patterns: 38 workers were individually contracted, 5 were government employees, and 3 were with PSUs but hired by private agencies
Government Response: The NAMASTE scheme, launched in July 2023, targets hazardous sewer cleaning and aims to provide PPE kits, training, and capital subsidies.
Scheme Implementation: Of 84,902 workers identified across 36 States/UTs, only about half received safety kits. Odisha is the only state to ensure 100% coverage through its Garima scheme.
Additional Support: Rs.20 crore in capital subsidies given to 707 workers, ~1,000 workshops held, and 37,800 waste pickers identified for aid under NAMASTE.