Haryana CM: Private units must give relief to sewermen who die on duty

Chandigarh, January 11

Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar said if a sewerman died while cleaning, his family was given an assistance of Rs 10 lakh.

So far, the amount had been given to the families of 57 sewermen across the state, he said today, while presiding over a meeting of the State Monitoring Committee constituted as per the Manual Scavenging Act. If private companies engaged in cleaning were reluctant to provide the amount, action would be taken against them, he said.

Cooperation Minister Banwari Lal was also present during the meeting.

The Chief Minister directed the Public Health Engineering Department to ensure sewerage cleaning machines were available in rotation at all Municipal Corporations.

The Chief Minister directed the officers of the Urban Local Bodies Department to form a committee of employees engaged in cleaning work, and make arrangements for awarding contracts.

Chief Minister Monohar Lal Khattar said manual cleaning of sewerage was prohibited throughout the state. The State Public Health Engineering Department was training the sanitation workers to use state-of-the-art equipment. The State Monitoring Committee has been constituted to impose a complete ban on manual cleaning. He said the committee members should meet timely to take necessary decisions.