NEW DELHI, Mar 11 : About 66,961 sewer and septic tank workers across 34 states/UTs have been identified for benefits under the National Action Plan for Mechanised Sanitation Ecosystem (NAMASTE), the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment said on Tuesday.
Responding to a question in the Lok Sabha, the Minister of State for Social Justice and Empowerment, Ramdas Athawale, said that the two states — Odisha and Tamil Nadu — are in the process of integrating available data into the central NAMASTE database.
“66,961 Sewer and Septic Tank Workers (SSWs) have been validated across 34 states/UTs. A total of 45,292 PPE kits and 354 Safety Devices Kits for Emergency Response Sanitation Units have been supplied/ordered,” he said in a written response.
He added that Ayushman cards have been made available to 15,160 beneficiaries, and a capital subsidy of Rs 17.23 crore has been released to 599 sanitation workers and their dependents for sanitation-related projects.
The Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, in convergence with the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, launched the NAMASTE scheme in July 2023 to ensure the safety and dignity of sanitation workers. The objective of the scheme is to formalise and rehabilitate those engaged in the hazardous cleaning of sewers and septic tanks. (PTI)
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