Rehabilitation of manual scavengers in Tamil Nadu seem to be progressing at a snail’s pace.
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CHENNAI: Rehabilitation of manual scavengers in Tamil Nadu seem to be progressing at a snail’s pace as data from Central Government blacklists TN as the only state out of 12 to have done the least. In a written reply to a question in Lok Sabha on Tuesday, minister of state for social justice and empowerment, Vijay Sampla, informed members that rehabilitation of 12,226 manual scavengers officially identified across the country has begun. Under the Self Employment Scheme for Rehabilitation of Manual Scavengers (SRMS), a one time cash assistance of Rs 40,000 would be given to beneficiaries, which is expected to help them start a different occupation.
Across the country, 7346 scavengers have been given the cash but not even one of them is from Tamil Nadu. The state’s scavenger count stands at 462, with Chennai corporation alone accounting for 252 of them. The municipal administration department categorically stated that it was not responsible for ensuring compensation to the scavengers. “We have completed the survey and issued identity cards. The compensation and rehabilitation is being handled by Adi Dravida and Tribal Welfare (AD&TW) department,” said an official.
Officials in AD&TW told DC that they encountered a ‘slight delay’ in establishing the identity of real beneficiaries and that the Central Government was kept in the loop, a statement echoed by a member of National Commission for Safai Karamcharis (NCSK), Lata Mahato. However, developmental activist A. Narayanan, whose PIL enabled Madras high court to direct MAWS authorities to re-conduct the survey on scavengers, ties the issue down to a problem of middle men.
“Middle men siphon off the funds meant for scavengers. Around 10 years back, the NCSK Finance Commission was offering soft loans for the scavengers but the funds never reached the hands of the beneficiary. When the commission demanded the loans be paid back, the state government had to spend from its funds to pay. Since that episode, TN government has not availed itself of loans for the scavengers,” he said. “Even otherwise, the rehabilitation package on offer is too small that people only consider it as a freebie. But, there is no mechanism to ensure that the money released will be used to rehabilitate. There is no vision or understanding of the subject, skill and manpower to execute rehabilitation components,” he added.
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( Source : deccan chronicle )
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