• The Union Cabinet approved the extension of tenure of the National Commission for Safai Karamcharis (NCSK) for three more years.

• The total financial implication of this extension would be approximately Rs 50.91 crore.

• The present tenure of the Commission was to end on March 31 and it has been extended up to March 31, 2028.

• It would help in facilitating socio-economic upliftment of sanitation workers, improving the working conditions in the sanitation sector and aiming to achieve zero fatalities while performing hazardous cleaning.

National Commission for Safai Karamcharis (NCSK)

• The National Commission for Safai Karamcharis (NCSK) was constituted on August 12, 1994 as a statutory body by an Act of Parliament — National Commission for Safai Karamcharis Act, 1993 — for a period of three years.

• The validity of the Act was extended with amendment Acts passed in 1997 and 2001 respectively. 

• With the lapsing of the The National Commission for Safai Karamcharis Act, 1993 in 2004, the Commission is acting as a non-statutory body of the ministry of social justice and empowerment whose tenure is extended from time to time through government resolutions, with approval of the Cabinet.

• The Commission consists of a chairperson, vice chairman and five other members (including one lady member). The chairman and the members of the commission are appointed by the central government.

• National Commission for Safai Karamcharis Act, 1993 defined the term “Safai Karamchari” as follows: “Safai Karamchari” means a person engaged in, or employed for, manually carrying human excreta or any sanitation work. 

• As per the “Prohibition of Employment as Manual Scavengers and their Rehabilitation Act, 2013”, “manual scavenger” means a person engaged or employed, at the commencement of this Act or at any time thereafter, by an individual or a local authority or an agency or a contractor, for manually cleaning, carrying, disposing of, or otherwise handling in any manner, human excreta in an insanitary latrine or in an open drain or pit into which the human excreta from the insanitary latrines is disposed of, or on a railway track or in such other spaces or premises, as the central government or a state government may notify, before the excreta fully decomposes in such manner as may be prescribed, and the expression “manual scavenging” shall be construed accordingly.

• The government monitors various interventions and initiatives for welfare of Safai Karamcharis to achieve the goal of complete mechanisation of sewer/septic tanks cleaning in the country and rehabilitation of manual scavengers.

Key Functions and Responsibilities:

i) Recommendations and Programmes: The NCSK recommends specific programs and policies to the central government aimed at eliminating inequalities faced by Safai Karamcharis in terms of status, opportunities, and facilities. It evaluates the implementation of various social and economic rehabilitation schemes.

ii) Grievance Redressal: It investigates specific grievances of Safai Karamcharis and takes suo-motu action if it notices non-implementation or violation of welfare schemes meant for them.

iii) Monitoring Health, Safety, and Wages: The commission monitors the working conditions of Safai Karamcharis, including their health and safety standards, and evaluates whether their wages are fair. It submits reports to the central or state governments regarding these concerns.

iv) Prohibition of Manual Scavenging: Under the Prohibition of Employment as Manual Scavengers and Their Rehabilitation Act, 2013, the NCSK is tasked with monitoring the enforcement of this law. The Act aims to abolish manual scavenging and rehabilitate those involved in this hazardous work. The NCSK investigates violations of the Act, advises both central and state governments on enforcement, and works to ensure compliance.

iv) Social and Economic Advancement: The commission plays a role in assessing and recommending steps for the social and economic advancement of Safai Karamcharis, aiming to uplift them from a marginalized status in society.

(The author is a trainer for Civil Services aspirants.)