08.09.2025.Sivaji's.Untouchable news...Online...A collection of SC.ST.Buddhist,Adivasi,reservation ,atrocity news of India.collected ...by Team Sivaji.9444917060.asivaji1962@gmail.com
CPI(M) urges Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister to release pending subsidies for SC, ST and small entrepreneurs
Nearly ₹12,000 crore in industrial incentives remain unpaid, including ₹650 crore owed to SC and ST entrepreneurs, pushing small businesses to the brink and putting thousands of jobs at risk, says the party State secretary
Published - September 07, 2025 07:17 pm IST - VIJAYAWADA
CPI (M ) State secretary, V. Srinivasa Rao | Photo Credit: File photo
The Communist Party of India (Marxist) has urged Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu to immediately release long-pending subsidies for Scheduled Caste (SC), Scheduled Tribe (ST), and small-scale entrepreneurs who are facing severe financial distress.
He noted that the small-scale sector, which provides significant employment, is struggling due to delays in disbursing promised incentives. SC and ST entrepreneurs, in particular, have been waiting for subsidies for the past four years, with many units nearing closure. Several businesses have already turned into non-performing assets (NPAs), putting thousands of workers at risk of losing their jobs.
According to Mr. Srinivasa Rao, nearly ₹12,000 crore in incentives remain pending for industries across the State, of which about ₹650 crore is overdue for SC and ST entrepreneurs. He criticised both the previous government and the present coalition for failing to clear these dues even after more than a year in office.
“Not a single rupee has been released so far. The condition of SC and ST entrepreneurs is extremely dire. Their industries are struggling to survive, while mounting bank pressures and rising interest costs are only worsening the situation,” he said.
The CPI(M) leader appealed to the government to act without delay and release the pending subsidies to rescue struggling entrepreneurs and safeguard livelihoods.
Published - September 07, 2025 07:17 pm IST
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Dalit Man Assaulted Over Flag Dispute Sparks Outrage
A Dalit man was beaten by three individuals after refusing to tie a saffron flag to an electric pole already hosting a blue flag. The incident, caught on video, led to a police complaint and charges under the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.
In a disturbing incident that has ignited public outcry, a Dalit man was allegedly assaulted by three individuals for refusing to replace a blue flag with a saffron one on an electric pole. The incident took place in Semri Rajapur village on Saturday afternoon.
The victim, identified as Vijay Kumar, was allegedly approached by Mausam Singh, Daulat Singh, and Saurabh Tiwari with the demand to tie a saffron flag to a pole. Upon his refusal, he was reportedly subjected to physical assault and casteist slurs. A video capturing the altercation was widely shared on social media, bringing the issue to broader attention.
The police have registered a case under the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act following a complaint by the victim. Investigations have been initiated to apprehend the accused, who fled when local villagers intervened to stop the attack.
(With inputs from agencies.)
- global shift towards stricter immigration policies, potentially guiding other nations in similar endeavors to uphold border integrity.
(With inputs from agencies.)
3.
RESERVATION FOR HIGHER EDUCATION STUDIES.
Read more at: https://www.deccanherald.com/education/private-colleges-the-next-reservation-frontier-2-3715686
13-year-old Dalit girl allegedly raped, filmed by accused in UP village
In a horrific incident in a village under the Bazar Shukul police station area, a 13-year-old Dalit girl was allegedly raped by a man from her village, who also filmed the assault, police reported on Sunday, September 7, 2025. The accused, now in custody and under interrogation, faces serious charges following the crime that has sparked outrage.
According to police, the incident occurred on Friday evening when the accused lured the girl out of her home and assaulted her. He recorded the act and threatened to upload the video online and kill her if she disclosed the incident to anyone. Despite the threats, the traumatized girl confided in her mother upon returning home. Her father promptly lodged a complaint at the Bazar Shukul police station on Saturday, detailing the harrowing ordeal.
Station Officer Abhinesh Kumar confirmed that a case has been registered against the accused under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, and the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act. The police are conducting a thorough investigation to ensure justice for the victim.
The case highlights the persistent issue of violence against marginalized communities, particularly Dalit girls, in rural India. Authorities are under pressure to act swiftly, as the incident underscores the urgent need for stronger measures to protect vulnerable children and enforce stringent penalties for such heinous crimes.
Courtesy : Muslim Mirror
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Uttar Pradesh: 19-year-old Dalit woman alleges gang rape in Pratapgarh Gang Rape, raped
In a distressing incident in the Patti area of Pratapgarh district, a 19-year-old Dalit woman, a college student, was allegedly raped by two men on Saturday, September 6, 2025, police reported on Sunday.
The assault occurred when the victim visited a village under the Patti police station jurisdiction to collect money from a friend’s acquaintance, according to Additional Superintendent of Police (ASP), East, Shailendra Lal.
Based on the victim’s complaint, a case was registered on Saturday evening against the two accused, identified as Aman and his accomplice, under relevant legal provisions, including sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and applicable laws for crimes against Scheduled Castes.
The police have launched a manhunt, forming four specialized teams to apprehend the suspects. ASP Lal assured that the accused would be arrested soon, emphasizing the authorities’ commitment to swift justice.
This case underscores the ongoing issue of violence against Dalit women in India, raising concerns about safety and systemic discrimination. The police are under pressure to act decisively to ensure accountability and provide support to the victim, as the community demands stringent action against the perpetrators to prevent such heinous crimes. — With Agencies Inputs
Courtesy : Muslim Mirror
Anticipatory bail in SC/ST Act is not easy! Supreme Court’s latest decision to stop Dalit oppression which is very important for you to know
The court, citing Ram Krishna Balothia vs State of Madhya Pradesh (1995), said that such crimes belong to a special category, which are related to untouchability, so the criminal cannot be given a chance to threaten the victims by granting bail.
New Delhi- In a recent important decision, the Supreme Court has overturned the order of the Bombay High Court, taking a tough stand on granting anticipatory bail under the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989 (SC/ST Act). This decision is very important because it limits the facility of anticipatory bail in cases of casteist oppression against Dalit and tribal communities, thereby strengthening the process of getting justice to the victims and preventing the criminals from threatening or influencing the witnesses.
The court clarified that there is a complete ban on anticipatory bail under Section 18 of the SC/ST Act, except in cases where the crime is not proved prima facie. This judgment is a strong step towards social justice, which strengthens the principle of abolition of untouchability under Article 17 of the Constitution.
The case pertains to the Paranda police station of Dharashiv district of Maharashtra, where the appellant Kiran, who belongs to the Matang (Mang) Scheduled Caste community, lodged an FIR on November 26, 2024 against the accused Rajkumar Jivraaj Jain and others. The FIR registered offences under Sections 118(1), 115(1), 189(2), 189(4), 190, 191(2), 191(3), 333, 324(4), 76, 351(3) and 352 of the Indian Penal Code (BNS) along with Sections 3(1)(o), 3(1)(r), 3(1)(s), 3(1)(w)(i) of the SC/ST Act.
The incident took place on 25 November 2024 at 11 am, a day after the assembly elections, when the accused and their associates reached the appellant’s house and attacked him using casteist slurs. According to the FIR, accused Rajkumar Jain hit the appellant on the head and back with an iron rod, saying “Mangtyan, you have become very arrogant”, causing the appellant to fall down. The accused also hurled casteist slurs at the appellant’s mother Mohini and aunt Rekha, pulled their sarees, assaulted them and threatened to burn down the house. During this, the mother’s one tola gold mangalsutra fell off and household articles were damaged.
The appellant’s friend Yashwant Bodre was also beaten up for being from the Ramoshi community and voting against the government. The accused had a petrol bottle in their hand and were threatening to burn down the house. Some people from the village came to intervene, following which the appellant was sent to the hospital and an FIR was registered from there.
The judgment is significant as it limits the facility of anticipatory bail in cases of casteist atrocities against Dalit and tribal communities, thereby strengthening the process of access to justice for victims and preventing perpetrators from threatening or influencing witnesses.
The incident occurred due to the appellant not voting for the accused’s preferred candidate in the assembly election, which is an offence under Section 3(1)(o) of the SC/ST Act, as it deals with punishing a Scheduled Caste member for voting or not voting.
The appellant alleged casteist insult, insult in a public place (Sections 3(1)(r) and 3(1)(s)), and touching of sexual nature against women (Section 3(1)(w)(i)). The accused belong to the Jain community, which is not a Scheduled Caste/Tribe, hence the SC/ST Act applies. Additional Sessions Judge, Paranda rejected the anticipatory bail plea of the accused as prima facie offence was proved, caste certificate confirmed the Scheduled Caste of the appellant and statements of witnesses were available. But the Aurangabad bench of Bombay High Court on 29th April 2025 granted anticipatory bail to the accused in Criminal Appeal No. 201/2025, stating that the case appears to be exaggerated, there are inconsistencies in the statements of witnesses and the incident is motivated by electoral politics. The High Court granted bail terming the nature of injuries as minor.
The special leave petition of the appellant was heard in the Supreme Court, where Justice N.V. Anjaria along with Chief Justice B.R. Gavai and Justice K. Vinod Chandran delivered the judgment. The court set aside the High Court order and said that there is a complete bar on anticipatory bail under Section 18 of the SC/ST Act, which prevents the application of Section 438 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC). Citing earlier judgments such as Vilas Pandurang Pawar v State of Maharashtra (2012), Prithvi Raj Chauhan v Union of India (2020) and Shajan Skaria v State of Kerala (2024), the court clarified that the court has to examine the prima facie offence only on the contents of the FIR and not conduct a detailed analysis of the evidence or a mini trial.
Here, it is clear from the FIR that the accused insulted the appellant by using the casteist word “mangtyans”, which happened in public view and was caste-related. The court said that in such cases, the bar can be lifted only as an exception when the offence is not made out prima facie, but here all the elements are present. The State of Maharashtra also opposed the bail of the accused.
The judgment strengthens the objective of the SC/ST Act, which is to make the Scheduled Castes and Tribes socio-economically strong and protect them from humiliation. Citing Ram Krishna Balothia vs State of Madhya Pradesh (1995), the court said that such crimes belong to a special category, which are related to untouchability, so the offender cannot be given an opportunity to intimidate the victims by granting bail.
Referring to the interpretation of “public view” in cases like Swarn Singh (2008), Hitesh Verma (2020) and Karuppudayar (2025), the court said that the incident outside the appellant’s house falls in public view. The judgment clarified that these comments are prima facie and will not affect the trial. The decision has been welcomed by Dalit rights activists, as it will speed up justice in cases of oppression and avoid political pressure.
BANAE National President Dr Nagsen Sonare said, “Anticipatory bail cannot be granted under Section 438 of CrPC as it is prohibited by Section 18 of the Prevention of Atrocities Act 1989. Wide publicity of this order is necessary as courts across India are granting anticipatory bail under Section 438 of CrPC and this gives moral encouragement to the accused to commit atrocities against the SC-ST community again. This order of the Supreme Court should be shared and discussed by all our organizations and associations.”
NACDAOR Chairman Ashok Bharti welcomed this decision of the Supreme Court. He said that NACDAOR suggests that the Supreme Court should hold a meeting of judges and judicial officers on this issue, in which different courts should avoid giving different interpretations.
Geetha Sunil Pillai
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Kerala: Tribal settlements of Idukki still deprived of basic facilities, warning of election boycott
Tribal settlements of Idukki still away from road and health facilities, angry community decided to boycott elections.
Kerala: Ahead of the local body and assembly elections in the state, the lack of basic facilities in the major tribal settlements of Idukki district has once again become a topic of discussion. The biggest concern is that two Muthuvan tribal settlements of Edamalkudi Panchayat and five settlements of Vattavada Panchayat are still completely cut off from road connectivity.
A report submitted by the State Special Branch to the Kerala Government states that the resentment of the people is increasing due to the continuous lack of facilities in the Edamalkudi area.
Carrying patients on bamboo stretchers
Due to lack of road connectivity, patients in areas like Edamalakudi, Swamiyarlakudi, Koodallarkudi, Mele Valsapettikudi, Vayaltharakudi and Parasukkadavukudi have to be carried to the hospital through forests on makeshift stretchers made of bamboo. Recently, an elderly woman was carried to the hospital in Mankulam through dense forests for 10 km in a similar way.
A child died on August 21. In another incident, a woman suffering from asthma could not be taken to the Family Health Centre in Societykudi in time, due to which her condition deteriorated and she later lost her life.
“The tribals of the district have been demanding basic amenities and road connectivity for a long time, but no concrete steps have been taken so far,” said a tribal member of the Vattavada panchayat.
Announcement of boycott of elections
In a recent meeting of tribal leaders of two wards of the Vattavada Gram Panchayat, a decision was taken to boycott the upcoming elections. In the meeting of tribal chiefs (Ooru Kootam), it was decided that there will be no participation in the elections. To fill the reserved seats in the Panchayat, political parties need to field candidates from these five settlements, but no one is ready to come forward.
Unfulfilled hopes even after 15 years
According to the information, the recent death of a five-year-old child in Koodallarkudi settlement of Edamalakudi has shaken the people of the Panchayat. It is noteworthy that in the year 2010, the first tribal Gram Panchayat was formed exclusively for the Muthuvan community. But even after 15 years, the community is struggling for basic facilities.
The Intelligence Wing report has recommended the government to intervene immediately and solve the problems.
Rajan Chaudhary
Courtesy: Hindi News
Stalin pays Tribute to Dr Ambedkar and Marx during London visit
After paying homage to famous social reformer EV Ramasamy Periyar, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin turned his attention to Dr B.R. Ambedkar and Karl Marx during his visit to London.
Statesman News Service | Chennai | September 7, 2025 8:29 am
Photo:SNS
After paying homage to famous social reformer EV Ramasamy Periyar, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin turned his attention to Dr B.R. Ambedkar and Karl Marx during his visit to London. On Saturday, he visited Ambedkar House and also paid tribute at the memorial of Karl Marx at Highgate Cemetery.
A day earlier, Stalin had unveiled the portrait of Dravidian icon and leader of the non-Brahmin movement, Periyar EV Ramasamy, at Oxford University. During his Europe investment scouting mission, he took time to visit these two historic landmarks.
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Periyar, considered the father figure of Dravidian assertion and known for his close association with Ambedkar, was also the first to publish the Tamil translation of The Communist Manifesto. Both Ambedkar and Marx have profoundly influenced the political landscape of Tamil Nadu.
“This was where a young man, once suppressed by caste in India, rose through knowledge to command respect in London and later became the chief architect of the Indian Constitution. What touched me most was seeing the historic picture of Thanthai Periyar and Dr Ambedkar in conversation,” Stalin wrote on ‘X’ after touring Ambedkar’s residence.
Calling it an inspiring moment, he added the message, “#JaiBhim.” Dr Ambedkar had lived there while pursuing his studies at the prestigious London School of Economics (LSE).
Stalin also visited the tomb of Karl Marx and laid floral tributes to the philosopher who had deeply influenced world history. The Chief Minister described Marx as the “radiant red sun who gave light to the toiling masses.”
Quoting Marx’s famous words, he wrote: “The philosophers have only interpreted the world in various ways. The point, however, is to change it.”
He added, “Paid homage at the memorial of the intellectual giant #KarlMarx. Red salute to the radiant red sun who gave light to the working class.”
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The dirty truth
A recent strike by Chennai’s conservancy workers highlighted a system so casteist and corrupt that they are still fighting for minimum wages.
Published : Sep 07, 2025 21:13 IST - 13 MINS READ
COMMents 1
A conservancy worker of the Greater Chennai Corporation detained by the police after nearly two weeks of protest against the privatisation of conservancy operations in the Royapuram and Thiru Vi Ka Nagar zones in Chennai, on August 13. | Photo Credit: AKHILA EASWARAN
In 2015, this reporter filed RTI applications in every police station in Hyderabad within the limits of the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation, asking for the FIRs registered after the death of any conservancy worker forced into a manhole. Over the next year, after a scrutiny of the FIRs, numbering in the hundreds, these were my findings: one, the majority of the workers were Madiga (a Scheduled Caste); two, and more importantly, every FIR was registered as a Section 174 case, which is done when a death is seen as “suspicious”. And three, most of the FIRs ended with the police filing a B (closure) report and closing the case. Usually, nobody was booked for the deaths.
Enquiries with the surviving wives revealed that the women had taken on their husbands’ roles and were now conservancy workers themselves. They had not been rehabilitated as per the Prohibition of Employment as Manual Scavengers and their Rehabilitation Act, 2013, which mandates that the kin of the deceased receive the state’s support to move away from the caste-imposed occupation.
Historically, Dalits have been forced into the work of disposing of waste and night soil, a practice outlawed only as recently as the 1990s. While B.R. Ambedkar famously called upon Dalits to give up this occupation, it has not been in their control to quit or walk away from it. During Partition, Dalits in Pakistan were not allowed to migrate like the other non-Muslims as their work was considered “essential services”, forcing them to continue in conservancy work.
The modern Indian state has worked in various ways to institutionalise this work and keep it caste-based, as we see today in almost every municipal corporation in the country, rather than professionalise it and open it up to all castes. The apathy that society displays towards the experience of conservancy workers, even when the news of their deaths in manholes are splashed across the media and despite significant literature and visuals of their working conditions, is deeply troubling, affirming that their status quo is probably by design.
Also Read | Feet of clay
According to experts in the field, a rough estimate puts the number of conservancy workers in Tamil Nadu (considering those employed by municipalities, hospitals, the Railways, and so on) at over 5,00,000. If this data are extrapolated to a national scale, the number of Indians working in this sector would easily surpass one crore. The sheer scale of the numbers makes the reality starker as no government to date has formulated a policy to provide hazard pay or safeguards to these workers despite the risky nature of their work. Moreover, conservancy workers are embroiled in a system that is so corrupt that even when every cog in the machine is making money, their struggle remains stuck at demanding minimum wages.
Corruption has become the mainstay of solid waste management in India, under institutions such as the Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC), which is responsible for “public health, sanitation conservancy and solid waste management” under the 12th Schedule. On the sidelines of the 13-day strike led by more than 2,000 of the GCC’s conservancy workers in August, one worker, Marimuthu, 35, told Frontline that it was pointless to discuss caste in the context of their strike. “We know the system is rotten because we, as Scheduled Castes, form the bulk of the workforce. Do you think the city won’t burn if you were to take away the salaries of doctors like this?”
Conservancy work in Chennai (then Madras) dates back to the mid-17th century, when the then Governor of Madras Presidency, Streynsham Master, employed a team to sweep the streets of the new town. A conservancy tax was levied on businessmen and landowners, which they opposed, demanding the privilege of exemption. From then until now, while the town has expanded into a full-blown metropolitan city, with the largest municipal corporation in Tamil Nadu, the attitude of its residents has remained the same: to resist any participation in the process of sanitation and waste management.
Take, for example, the proposed privatisation of Zones 5 and 6 (Royapuram and Thiru Vi Ka Nagar). When conservancy workers affiliated to the respective unions called for a strike and protested outside Ripon Building (where the GCC is headquartered), politicians and middle-class citizens spoke of the garbage piling up, of their taxes being misused (“I pay tax; I am entitled to a clean city”), of their rage that a section of the city was left unclean. In the conflict between private contractor and workers, both citizens and politicians vouch readily for the efficiency of the contractor and speak of privatisation as the only way to ensure a “clean city”.
The business of solid waste management
The scrutiny that sanitation workers are subject to is missing when the GCC makes decisions, along with politicians, on the future of waste management in Chennai. The tender from the GCC calling for the privatisation of Zones 5 and 6 was issued in 2023, followed by bids submitted by three parties: Delhi MSW Solutions Ltd, Sumeet Urban Services (Chennai), and Swachatha Corporation. Swachatha Corporation’s bid was rejected in the technical round. Delhi MSW Solutions’ bid stood at Rs.360 crore and Sumeet Urban Services’ bid at Rs.278 crore. A Letter of Acceptance was eventually issued to Delhi MSW Solutions, but the tender summary shows glaring deficiencies.
For instance, it should list the methodology used to scrutinise the bids—rankings under technical summary, financial summary, comparison of the BOQ (a document detailing every work item, material, labour, and their quantities required to complete a project), and reasons for award of contract. These are absent, as are an estimation of costs by bidders. Barring a few, most tender summaries of the GCC that are available for online scrutiny seem devoid of details.
Even though the Tamil Nadu Transparency in Tenders (PPP Procurement) Rules of 2012 state that the lowest bidder must be considered the most eligible, Delhi MSW moved from a bid of Rs.360 crore to Rs.277 crore in a process that has become all too familiar.
Bureaucrats who have served in the GCC told Frontline on condition of anonymity that such processes are only carried out for the sake of formality, and that the scrutiny they require has long been neglected. “The demand for privatisation of these zones has come from the Ward Councillors and corporators themselves, channelled through Sekar Babu,” said one bureaucrat, who also explained how all the other zones were making money from waste by projecting more tonnes than what was collected. (P.K. Sekar Babu of the State’s ruling party, the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, is the Minister of Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments Department and represents the Harbour Assembly constituency, which covers many core areas of Chennai. The GCC falls in his sphere of influence.)
In privatised zones, corporators exercise significant sway, whether in the procurement of essentials for workers or in the flow of money generated from solid waste.
A corrigendum to the tender states that the daily wage rate of a sanitary worker, among similar roles, is to be disclosed as Rs.687 at the time of bidding. This, even if lower than the minimum wage, adds up to Rs.21,000 a month, as opposed to the appointment orders that stipulate a daily wage of Rs.565. The difference, when multiplied across thousands of workers, runs into crores, money that vanishes into thin air right at the outset. After the strike, an order of the Madras High Court dated August 20, 2025, has directed Delhi MSW Solutions to pay conservancy workers their last drawn wages.
A retired Municipal Commissioner, S.A. Khader, who was instrumental in transforming districts such as Suryapet in Telangana into a zone of efficient waste management, with workers sharing the incentives from processing waste, offered a blunt assessment: “Everybody in the Municipal Commission, be it corporators, counsellors, engineers, MLAs, ex-MLAs, MPs, or Collectors, knows that a sure-shot way to earn money is through the municipality, especially from what is set aside for sanitation.”
This has also been the experience of the former IAS officer Sasikant Senthil (currently a Congress MP from Thiruvallur constituency), who implemented strict waste management regulations in Raichur, Karnataka, during his term as District Collector. The method of collection was changed from public bins to door-to-door; source segregation was encouraged; the waste collected was processed; and the profit from it turned into an incentive for the workers. However, Senthil said: “The year I left Raichur, corporators were back to their game.”
Origins of public-private partnership
The concept of public-private partnership in solid waste management began in the 1990s. The narrative often hinged on how municipal corporations were unable to do a good job of cleaning cities because of “inefficient workers”. This, according to pro-privatisation voices, meant the government had to outsource the work. In Chennai, the idea was introduced when M.K. Stalin was the Mayor of Chennai (1996-2002), based on the same logic of “inefficient workers” and reportedly after a visit to Singapore where he was struck by the city’s cleanliness. Twenty-five years later, as sanitation and waste management in the city continues to remain abysmal, every zone under the GCC is looking to being turned over to private players while Stalin’s government has reneged on its promise of regularising conservancy workers.
The organisational chart of the Greater Chennai Corporation. | Photo Credit: https://chennaicorporation.gov.in
Says the advocate Saravanan, who has been filing PIL petitions in the Madras High Court for more than a decade now: “This is just a ruse: are the workers who are at the lowest rung of the chain the real reason for inefficient sanitation? What is the real reason?” All his PIL petitions have demanded that sanitation workers be given protective equipment to carry out their work, and that dehumanising work, such as clearing human excrement with bare hands from railway tracks, be mechanised.
The GCC’s tender document lists a hierarchy that is responsible institutionally for waste management.
Saravanan said: “In the decades since Independence, there has been absolutely no scrutiny on what these people, all on the government payroll, are doing. The only ones who are blamed at the drop of a hat for a so-called unclean city are the workers.” He reiterated how conversation around the work itself has not moved away from the historically casteist connotations of “dirty work”. While unsegregated waste attracts the strictest penalties and legal notices in countries such as the US and Sweden, source segregation is not even part of government policy in India. “How is it the burden of the most underpaid worker to keep the city clean, when you can’t even give him equipment or when households can’t segregate waste?”
People working with private contractors say that an organisation such as the GCC cannot efficiently manage sanitation because there are “too many leakages”—in other words, corruption. Therefore, they told Frontline, the only option is to give the job to private players. One of them also said: “This is also a way to break the collective bargaining powers of workers and the unions that represent them.”
A major cause for concern for municipal corporations and private contractors is the drop in numbers of those willing to sign up for this work. Instead of speeding up mechanisation, the State has resorted to bringing in migrant workers from other States and underpaying them, as in Tiruppur, or blocking the compulsory regularisation of workers into Group D posts.
Every conservancy worker Frontline spoke to during and after the recent strike outside Ripon Building had similar stories to tell. For decades, their experience has been one of hazardous work that is not clearly defined, safety equipment that is either not provided or is not replaced on time, zero workers’ incentives or benefits, and rampant exploitation. This work, which tripled during the pandemic and natural calamities, goes unacknowledged. But, most importantly, there is a deep-rooted feeling of dehumanisation and disposability among the workers that is reinforced by both the GCC and private players.
Contract workers who have tried to affiliate themselves with a union have been swiftly dismissed, barring a few exceptions where a court order has sought their reinstation. Even the judiciary, according to Saravanan, is far from understanding the worker’s predicament. He referred to a recent statement by a Supreme Court judge who asked that sanitation workers entering manholes be “sensitised not to do so”.
The new contract awarded to Delhi MSW has changed the terms of the contract itself. Now, instead of a single focus on waste collection, workers will be expected to play multiple roles under the broad ambit of “city cleaning”.
This means they can be assigned multiple duties at the discretion of the contractor, without compensation. “What 50 of us used to do, 10 are doing now,” said Vasuki, a conservancy worker from a Chennai zone where the work is already privatised. Sumati, who participated in the strike but had to return to work on Independence Day, said that even though the efforts of the union continue, she felt defeated: “Not because we were manhandled by the police but because this city refused to speak up for us.”
Police remove conservancy workers of the GCC protesting outside Ripon Building, in Chennai on August 13. | Photo Credit: AKHILA EASWARAN
For a nationwide workforce numbering more than one crore, the lack of representative organisations is sorely felt. While there are more than 16 unions in Chennai itself, the reality is that the regularisation of these workers seems almost impossible now, especially with the Tamil Nadu government aggressively moving towards outsourcing every sector that falls under Group D. Khader said that while some unions have been successful in demanding that corporations pay minimum wages, most city corporations in India have moved towards privatisation.
Also Read | Other side of the city
For sanitation to work, Khader believes it must be planned under city corporations, with their working revamped and hiring and payment made more transparent. He adds that private players only become a mode to facilitate corruption along with the administration’s power brokers. In its order dated October 4, 2004, in Almitra H. Patel v. Union of India, the Supreme Court acknowledged Khader’s model in Suryapet, which relied on efficient planning within the town with zero dependence on State or Central funds, as a model that could be emulated by other States. Such directives, though, have almost no takers.
If governments have failed to be fair to conservancy workers, commissions such as the National Commission for Safai Karamcharis or the SC/ST Commission, too, have been largely ineffective in speaking up for their rights. Two members who serve on these commissions told Frontline that such bodies are always constituted in a way that they align with the interests of the state and are never the watchdogs that their role demands. Individuals such as Saravanan and Khader have been calling for reforms in solid waste management, but without real political will, the work will remain rooted in caste and the workers will remain award-winning photo-ops.
Greeshma Kuthar is an independent journalist and lawyer from Tamil Nadu.
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