67% of sanitation workers are from SC community: Govt data | India News – Times of India

NEW DELHI: Over 67% of sewer and septic tank workers (SSWs) in India belong to SC category, according to official data. In a response to a question in LS, Union minister of state for social justice and empowerment Ramdas Athawale said that out of 54,574 validated sewer and septic tank workers profiled under the ‘National Action for Mechanised Sanitation Ecosystem’ (NAMASTE) scheme, 37,060 are from the SC category.
The statistics further show that 16% of the workers belong to OBCs, 8.3% are from STs, while only 8.1% come from the General category.
Data integration for states like Odisha and Tamil Nadu into the central NAMASTE database is currently underway.
The NAMASTE scheme, launched in 2023-24 by the ministry of social justice and empowerment in collaboration with the ministry of housing and urban affairs (MoHUA), aims to ensure the safety, dignity, and empowerment of sanitation workers.
To raise awareness on the hazards of unsafe cleaning practices, 837 workshops have been conducted since the scheme’s launch.
Efforts to mechanise sanitation work and reduce hazardous manual cleaning have also been prioritised.