Maharashtra: The Bombay High Court has issued a significant order directing the Maharashtra government to create a social media handle for reporting instances of manual scavenging across the state.
A Division Bench comprising Justice Nitin Jamdar and Justice M.M. Sathaye heard a petition filed by Shramik Janata Sangh regarding manual scavenging in Maharashtra.
The court noted that while the state government had previously submitted certificates declaring all 36 districts in Maharashtra free of manual scavenging as of August 2023, the government later clarified that this referred to the situation in 2022, not the present.
Expressing concern over the continuing instances of manual scavenging, the court issued several directives to the Department of Social Welfare:
“The Department of Social Welfare will also create a dedicated email address for each of the District Level Committees and Vigilance Committees. It shall also create a social media handle where citizens and non-governmental organizations can report instances of manual scavenging, which the District Level Committee and Vigilance Committee can examine.”
The court also ordered the publication of the composition of all committees formed under the Prohibition of Employment as Manual Scavengers and Their Rehabilitation Act, 2013, on the department’s website, along with details of actions taken by these committees.
Justice Jamdar and Justice Sathaye further directed:
“The Nodal Officer, i.e., the Commissioner of the Social Welfare Department, will issue instructions to all the Vigilance Committees in the State of Maharashtra to ensure that meetings are held on time, agendas are circulated in advance, and the outcomes of the meetings and the actions taken are uploaded on the website as directed above.”
The court emphasized that these measures are in addition to existing duties under the 2013 Act and aim to assist the Social Welfare Department in preventing manual scavenging.
In conclusion, while setting a deadline for the next hearing on September 9, 2024, the court directed that the creation of the social media handle, email addresses, and the uploading of information on the website be completed by the next date.
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