Supreme Court News: The Supreme Court on Friday (October 20) took a very serious stance on the incidents of death during sewer cleaning in the country. The court said that the government officials will have to pay a compensation of Rs 30 lakh to the families of those who died.
Justice S. A bench of Justices Ravindra Bhat and Justice Arvind Kumar said that Rs 20 lakh will be paid as minimum compensation to those who suffer permanent disability while cleaning sewers.
What did the court say?
The bench said, “The Central and State Governments should ensure that the practice of manual scavenging is completely eliminated. While giving the verdict, Justice Bhatt said that if the sweeper is suffering from other disability then the authorities will have to pay up to Rs 10 lakh.
The court issued many instructions, which were not read. The bench directed that government agencies should coordinate to ensure that such incidents do not occur and further, the High Courts should not be prevented from monitoring cases related to sewer deaths.
This decision came on a public interest litigation. Awaiting detailed order.
How many people died in the last five years?
According to government data cited in the Lok Sabha in July 2022, at least 347 people died while cleaning sewers and septic tanks in India over the past five years, with 40 percent of the deaths occurring in Uttar Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Delhi.
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