The number, according to the figures reported by the states in 2015, was around 13,770. The latest survey found 20,596 manual scavengers in 2018
New Delhi: Manual scavenging has been banned since 1993 but there has been little impact on the ground.
The latest data from a survey conducted by the National Safai Karamcharis Finance & Development Corporation this year on manual scavengers has found their number has risen by over 6,800 compared with figures states had supplied three years ago.
The number, according to the figures reported by the states in 2015, was around 13,770. The latest survey found 20,596 manual scavengers in 2018.
Social justice and empowerment minister Thawaarchand Gehlot on Tuesday said the figures the states supplied in 2015 had underestimated the actual number.
“The states did not report correctly because they wanted to avoid further questioning as the Supreme Court has fixed a deadline for ending the practice of manual scavenging,” Gehlot told a workshop on prevention of hazardous cleaning of sewers and septic tanks.
The Supreme Court had earlier asked the states to provide these people with alternative avenues of employment by December 2014.
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