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The Madras High Court on Wednesday directed all Commissioners of Municipal Corporations across the state of Tamil Nadu and heads of the Municipalities to file a written undertaking that no manual scavenging work would be permitted in their jurisdiction.

The division bench of Chief Justice Sanjib Banerjee and Justice PD Audikesavalu was hearing a batch of pleas including one filed by NGO Safai Karamchari Andolan.

The court passed the directions stating that as indicated by the previous orders in this matter, the Commissioners of the Corporations and the heads of the Municipalities will be held personally liable in case any manual scavenging activity is detected or any mishap occurs in course thereof.

The court also said that there cannot be any manual scavenging at all and it will continue to be the responsibility of all municipal bodies and Corporations across the State to ensure that there is no manual scavenging activity being undertaken at all.

The court also suggested that in the future when any such Commissioner of Corporation or head of the Municipality assumes office, he might be made required to furnish such undertaking.

The court said that in order to not compromise public interest, the state should endeavour to obtain appropriate machines or improve the sewer lines to ensure that no manual scavenging is necessary anywhere in the state.

Fixing accountability in the issue, the court also noted that it will also be the responsibility of the heads of Corporations and of Municipalities to ensure that no private person also indulges in any manual scavenging activity or engages any other for such work.

However, the court said that it is heartening that no further deaths of any safai karmachari have been reported since the matter was last heard in March this year.

During an earlier hearing the court noted that the matter is pending from 2017 and each time the matter had come up, the court had stressed the immediate need to stop the inhuman practice which amounts to exploitation of a particular class which has suffered for generations. 

Court had further said that while Municipalities and Corporations might have stopped directly engaging manual scavenging work, it appeared that the contractors were engaged for the purpose, and Corporation and Municipal officials kept looking the other way, while manual scavengers were still sent down the pits to carry filth on their heads as they came up.

Therefore, in a bid to curb the practice of manual scavenging the court had already issued a series of directions which included that "the authorities will restrain urban local bodies from engaging, directly or indirectly, manual scavengers, state to have an adequate number of mechanical septic tank cleaning machines and the same should be kept available for routine cleaning of septic tanks."

The court adjourned the matter to Nov 10 stating that the state's template for critical guidelines to be issued in such regard should be in place by the time the matter appears next.

 Case Title: Safai Karamchari Andolan and Others v. Union of India and Others