NEW DELHI, June 27: Expressing serious concern over diversion of funds meant for welfare of SCs and STs, Union Social Justice and Empower Minister Kumari Selja today said the Centre is considering a law to check it.
She said her ministry is working to ensure that huge funds meant for the impoverished communities are spent on their development and not for other purposes.
“I have written to all states in this regard. We will push for a law as well. A committee is working on it,” she said here, addressing a National Workshop on Awareness of Rights and Upliftment of Women Safai Karmcharis.
She claimed that protests against the proposed law have already started, but the government is determined to push it through.
Selja accepted that there is some justification to criticisms against government making one law after another, when the need is to bring about a change in social mindset for positive changes to happen.
“Making a law is necessary for protection of vulnerable communities,” she said.
Terming manual scavenging a blot on the country, Selja said it remains in practice despite being declared illegal years ago.
“We do not know about the exact number of people involved in manual scavenging as states often suppress real numbers. But different organisations inform us about its prevalence which is shocking,” she said, noting that women make an overwhelming majority of sanitary staff.
She said her ministry will carry out a comprehensive survey to identify the people involved in manual scavenging, and will rehabilitate them.
Selja said social discrimination against sanitary
employees has become a common practice and certain castes continued to be identified with the profession, which was no good for society.
She said contractual system of cleanliness in government and private sectors was not working, and employees were being exploited and paid poorly by contractors.
“Government should not leave its responsibility,” she said.
Railways, the minister said, had finally admitted to the practice of manual scavenging after years of denial and it should be employing mechanised cleaning system.
National Commission for Scheduled Castes Chairman P L Punia said close to 80 per cent of the sanitary staff were women, and it subjected them to various kinds of discrimination.
“The government should come out with special schemes for them,” he demanded. (PTI)
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