Taking
a grim view of incidents of sewer deaths in the country, the Supreme Court on
Friday said government authorities will have to pay Rs 30 lakh as compensation
to the kin of those who die while cleaning sewers.
A
bench comprising Justices S Ravindra Bhat and Aravind Kumar said those who
suffer permanent disabilities while cleaning sewers will be paid Rs 20 lakh as
minimum compensation.
"The
Union and the state governments must ensure that manual scavenging is
completely eradicated," the bench said.
Pronouncing
the judgement, Justice Bhat said the authorities will have to pay up to Rs 10
lakh if the cleaner suffers other disabilities.
Issuing
a slew of directions, which were not read out, the bench directed that the
government agencies must coordinate to ensure that such incidents do not occur
and moreover, the High Courts are not precluded from monitoring the cases
related to sewer deaths.
The
judgement came on a PIL. The detailed order is awaited.
As
many as 347 people died while cleaning sewers and septic tanks in India in the
last five years with Uttar Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Delhi accounting for 40 per
cent of these deaths, according to government data cited in Lok Sabha in July
2022.