NATIONAL ACTION FOR MECHANISED SANITATION ECOSYSTEM
In the budget speech of the finance minister , introduction of a new initiative was mentioned. It aimed at 100% mechanisation of the cleaning of sewers & septic tanks. It is officially named as, the “National Action for Mechanised Sanitation Ecosystem (NAMASTE). It will be a centrally sponsored scheme, as a joint initiative of the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment and the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs. It is aimed at reducing the fatalities of sanitation workers to zero, avoiding contact with human faecal matter, deployment of skilled staff at the work, access to alternative livelihoods for sanitation workers, etc. Scheme also includes the identification & enumeration of sewer and septic tank workers. This scheme mentions about the identification & enumeration of the informal and contractual workers engaged in hazardous cleaning operations. The aim of zero fatalities, was a long awaited initiative found its mention in the NAMASTE scheme. So the s...