After repeatedly taking to task by the highest court
of the land - Supreme Court, Central govt has been forced to succumb to the
orders of the Supreme Court to bring in a bill before Parliament prohibiting
manual scavenging across India with immediate effect. Prohibition of Manual
Scavenging and Rehabilitation Act 2012 Bill is scheduled to be introduced in
the ongoing session of Parliament, the Assistant Solicitor General Harish Raval
informed the court yesterday. It is however doubtful whether the govt will be
able to present the bill in Parliament in this session which is scheduled to
end on September 7, due to the Opposition being bent upon demanding the
resignation of Prime Minister Dr. ManMohan Singh over the alleged arbitrary
decision of allocating 57 coal blocks to
the Corporates without the mandatory competitive bidding process by none other
than the Prime Minister himself who was holding the charge of Coal Ministry
during the disputed period ie. 2006-2009. With the tabling of the Comptroller
and Auditor General’s audit report on the said allocation without competitive
bidding which has drained the exchequer to the tune of a mammoth Rs. 1.86 lakh
crores, the Parliament proceedings have been brought to a halt by the
Opposition NDA headed by Bharathiya Janata Party. The stalemate still continues.
In spite of repeated appeals by the Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar and Rajya
Sabha Chairman Hamid Ansari the unrelenting Opposition has brought the two
houses into a standstill for the sixth consecutive day today. If a solution is
not reached at the earliest, it is doubtful whether the possibility of tabling
the Prohibition of Manual Scavenging and Rehabilitation Bill 2012 will materialize.
Anyhow it will be a welcome relief to the poor manual scavengers whenever the
Bill is passed in Parliament. With the passage of the Bill after 65 years of
Independence this deplorable and dirty practice of manual scavenging will be
coming to an end once and for all. The court was being taken for a ride since
years by the govt which submitted umpteen assurances before the esteemed court
that a Bill related to manual scavenging will be tabled before Parliament and
will get it enacted. This time an angry Supreme Court drew the attention of
government, to the earliest assurances submitted before the Honourable Court to
the effect that the govt would take necessary action but it backtracked from
its assurances of enacting a law to put an end to the decades old ugly practice
of manual scavenging. The court took the opportunity to reprimand the govt over
the time delaying tactics adopted by the latter. Immediately after the Bill is
enacted in Parliament the implementation of the law should have to be completed
within 9 months. Upon the implementation of the bill all the insanitary toilets
or latrines must be demolished and sanitary latrines should be constructed in
its places. The ugly practice of appointing or hiring the manual scavengers to
clean the septic tanks and sewerages will be coming to a halt for good. In
addition to it the govt should extend financial assistance to the poor
scavengers to build homes and also directed the govt to meet the educational
expenses of the children of the scavengers.
In the case of violation of the law the govt should
bring the matter before court and 2 years imprisonment and Rs. 50,000/- fine
will be slapped on the violator whoever he is.
It is quite incomprehensible and incredible that a
nation which boasts frequently about the high growth trajectory and prosperity has
not been able to abolish this outdated practice of manual scavenging prevailing
across the country since decades. It is highly regrettable that a nation which
gave birth to the greatest man of all times to come, Mahatma Gandhi, still
continuing the mind-blowing practice of manual scavenging.
While always claiming to be a pro-poor govt and practicing
the just opposite policy of wagging the tail before the powerful Corporates,
put it mildly is an exercise in hypocrisy.
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