Delhi High Court Issues Notice On Plea Seeking Disbursement Of Salaries Of Sanitation Workers

The Division Bench of Chief Justice DN Patel and Justice Jyoti Singh has issued notice on a plea seeking directions to pay salaries of sanitation workers of Delhi till January 2021.

Filed one by Harnam Singh, the plea seeks prayers against the Delhi government, the National Commission for Safai Karamcharis and the Delhi Commission for National Karamcharis. The Central government has also been made a party to the petition.

Singh has sought directions from the court to the respondents for fulfillment of responsibilities enshrined under the Constitution of India, the National Commission for Safai Karamcharis Act, 1993, and The Prohibition of Employment as Manual Scavengers and Rehabilitation Act, 2013.

The plea also mentions two resolutions of the National Commission for Safai Karamcharis, dated 28.03.2019 and 02.03.2009 and seeks their implementation.

Inter alia, directions are also sought to all the named authorities for ensuring that health insurance and medical facilities are provided to all sanitation workers as well as their families.

The plea states that Singh had first moved the Supreme Court of India raising the "issue of lack of the most basic safety equipment for sanitation workers," however, this petition was disposed of by the Hon'ble Supreme Court in April, 2020 with the observation that the Union had already accepted the WHO Guidelines for provision of safety equipments to sanitation workers as being binding on India. The centre had stated that these guidelines were being strictly followed, therefore the plea was disposed of.

However, in light of the said order, Singh wrote to the administration of all States and Union Territories in India, seeking a response on the status of procurement and disbursement of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) kits and other safety equipment to sanitation workers, and informed them that no such equiments were firstly, being provided, secondly, if provided were of sub-standard quality.

Upon receiving no response from the authorities, the petitioner had moved the High Court.

"The National Commission for Safai Karamcharis, a statutory body established for protection of the rights and interests of Safai Karamcharis under the The National Commission for Safai Karamcharis Act, 1993, has also not performed its statutory functions in this crucial and significant period, is testament to the desperate circumstances being faced by Safai Karamcharis. The situation is not only having a deleterious effect on the Safai Karamcharis, their health, and the health of their families, but also the health and sanitation condition in the city," the plea states.