Camp-mode, convergence-based delivery such as the SafaiMitra Suraksha Shivir can close last-mile gaps in welfare. Discuss its strengths and limits with reference to sanitation workers.

In camp-mode delivery, several departments bring their services to one place for a short period. The Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment's national SafaiMitra Suraksha Evam Samman Shivir (Oct 2026) worked this way. It drew in over 3,800 ULBs, RLBs and line departments and reached 3.69 lakh beneficiaries [1]. The model can close access gaps quickly, but it cannot by itself close the safety gap.

Strengths

• Single-window convergence: check-ups, PPE kits, Ayushman cards and scheme registration were offered on one platform. There were 3,02,958 health check-ups, covering about 82% of attendees [1].
• Making invisible workers visible: sewer and septic-tank workers (SSWs) are informal and stigmatised, and most lack insurance [2]. The camp recorded 2.24 lakh NAMASTE card downloads and 1.53 lakh scheme registrations, creating records that workers can use to claim their entitlements [1].
• Federal reach: the Centre, States, ULBs and even rural bodies worked together, so services reached workers where they live [1].
• Dignity: the "Samman" (honour) element publicly recognises workers in caste-linked jobs. This supports Articles 17 and 21.
• Immediate protection: 1,28,928 PPE kits were distributed [1].

Limits

• Outputs, not outcomes: the camp's results report kits and cards, not deaths or machines [1]. 332 workers died in sewers and septic tanks between Jan 2021 and June 2026. Only 193 FIRs were registered in five years [3].
• Uneven coverage: PPE reached about 35% of attendees and Ayushman cards about 16% [1].
• Episodic nature: a camp ends, but follow-up depends on local capacity. Only 642 ERSUs (emergency response sanitation units) existed against 4,800+ ULBs by Aug 2025 [2].
• Protection over mechanisation: only 707 workers had received machine-linked capital subsidy under the Swachhata Udyami Yojana [2]. Nearly 90,000 SSWs have been verified [4].
• Design gaps: NAMASTE covers only ULBs and was approved up to 2025-26 [2]. Rural registrants have no channel to receive its benefits.

Camp-mode convergence works well for enrolment and first-contact services, but it cannot replace an ongoing system. The next phase of NAMASTE should report outcome indicators, such as deaths, cases of manual entry into sewers and machines deployed. Camps should become permanent ULB help-desks, urban sanitation funds should be tied to mechanisation, and the scheme should be extended to rural areas. This would bring the scheme closer to its goal of zero sanitation deaths, in line with SDG 8 (decent work) and the right to live with dignity under Article 21.