Union Minister of State Ramdas Athawale during the Budget session of Parliament. File
| Photo Credit: PTI/Sansad TV
The Union government is yet to identify any measurable indicators to show the enhanced efficiency or productivity resulting from the mechanisation of sewer and septic tank cleaning, it told the Lok Sabha on Tuesday (March 17, 2026), in response to a question about the progress of the NAMASTE mission to mechanise sanitation work across the country and prevent deaths from hazardous cleaning.
The government added that it had no information about the income rise among sanitation workers since the mission started in 2023-24.
In response to another question, the government said that 622 people across India had died due to hazardous cleaning since 2017. It added that, in 2025, the National Commission for Safai Karmacharis received 842 complaints from sanitation workers about “non-payment of wages, denial of safety equipment and caste-based discrimination”.
NAMASTE mission impact
The Union Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment was responding to multiple questions about the progress of the National Action for Mechanised Sanitation Ecosystem (NAMASTE) scheme and the status of those employed to clean sewers and septic tanks.
In response to a question from Janata Dal (United) MP Dileshwar Kamait, Minister of State for Social Justice Ramdas Athawale said that over 89,000 sewer and septic tank workers (SSWs) had been identified and validated by various urban local bodies in the country under the scheme. Parliament data from December 2025 showed that 85,473 PPE kits were distributed, and over 71,000 of them had been covered under Ayushman Bharat.
The Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs is also involved in funding used water treatment operations in urban local bodies with a population under 1 lakh, including support for the mechanisation of sewer and septic tank cleaning operations. Under the Swachh Bharat Mission-Urban 2.0, launched in 2021, the Centre allocated ₹15,926 crore for this, with action plans approved for projects worth ₹13,699 crore.
No productivity indicators
In response to Mr. Kamait’s direct question on whether there were indicators for increased efficiency or enhanced productivity due to this mechanisation plan, the Minister said, “No measurable indicators have so far been identified to show enhanced efficiency or productivity due to mechanisation.” Similarly, the government said it had no information on any increase in sanitation workers’ income.
In response to another question from Samajwadi Party MP Iqra Choudhary, the government said that since 2017, over 600 people had died from hazardous cleaning of sewers and septic tanks, of which the families of 539 were paid full compensation, while the families of 52 have not received any compensation.
‘Not caste-based’
Ms. Choudhary had also asked about the steps taken by the government to eliminate the “inter-generational caste-based” nature of the occupation, to which Mr. Athawale insisted that sewer and septic tank cleaning work was “occupation-based”, and not caste-based.
Parliament data from December 2024 showed that among sewer and septic tank workers profiled under NAMASTE till then, 91.95% were from SC, ST, and OBC backgrounds, while about 8.05% were from the General category communities. Later, the counting of waste-pickers under the same scheme showed that as of February this year, 84.5% of waste-pickers nationwide were from SC/ST and OBC communities and 10.7% from General category communities.
Published – March 17, 2026 08:33 pm IST
