Numerous deaths of workers during sewer cleaning in India; risks persist despite laws

Incidents of deaths of workers during the cleaning of sewers and septic tanks continue to occur in India. Recently, 4 workers died while cleaning a food-waste chamber of a hotel in Ujjain, Madhya Pradesh. According to a report by The Hindu, despite government programmes, Supreme Court orders, legal provisions, and the availability of mechanised cleaning technology, sanitation workers are losing their lives in preventable circumstances.

According to data from Parliament and the National Commission for Safai Karamcharis, the figures for deaths occurring during the cleaning of sewers and septic tanks are alarming. Between 2014 and 2025, 859 workers died, while 498 workers lost their lives between 2019 and mid-2026. Additionally, 332 deaths of workers were recorded across 18 states and union territories during 2021-26. Looking at a longer period, a total of 1,350 workers died between 1993 and 2025. However, the Safai Karamchari Andolan has repeatedly claimed that these figures are significantly under-reported compared to reality.

Since 2021, the government has claimed that the practice of manually cleaning human excreta from unsanitary toilets has been eliminated. Consequently, administrative bodies, municipalities, and private organisations have been freed from the urgency of inspection, while in reality, the root of the problem remains unsolved. A higher number of people from historically marginalised castes are found in these tasks. Since 2013, a distinction has been made in the law between the hazardous cleaning of sewers and septic tanks and manual scavenging; nevertheless, workers still remain under the risk of toxic gases.

In the Dr. Balram Singh (2023) case, the Supreme Court further strengthened the requirements under the Safai Karamchari Andolan (2014). The Court ordered that in outsourced sewer cleaning contracts, it must be ensured that workers do not have to enter the sewers. Along with this, the compensation in case of workers' deaths was increased to ₹30 lakh. In 2025, an order was given to stop manual sewer cleaning in four metro cities, including Bengaluru. A year later, notices were issued to 15 chief secretaries, including that of Hyderabad, for violating the 2023 order and failing to pay compensation.

According to the report, private contractors and municipal bodies violate the 'Prohibition of Employment as Manual Scavengers and their Rehabilitation Act 2013' and its rules. They attempt to evade their responsibility by employing daily wage workers without documentation. Therefore, this problem cannot be resolved without the formalisation of workers' employment and improving social security beyond casteism.

Under the National Action for Mechanised Sanitation Ecosystem scheme, a large gap has also been observed between targets and outcomes. This scheme is primarily focused on urban local bodies, but it contains a fundamental flaw: the state administration focuses on increasing administrative assistance, such as the distribution of kits, but does not focus on reducing the conditions that cause the deaths of workers.