Despite legislative prohibition and judicial directions, deaths in sewers and septic tanks continue in India. Critically examine the gaps in the legal and administrative framework.

Between January 2021 and June 2026, 332 sanitation workers died cleaning sewers and septic tanks across 18 States/UTs, according to NCSK data [1]. The deaths continue despite the PEMSR Act, 2013 and Supreme Court mandates. This shows the gaps lie more in the framework's design and enforcement than in its intent.

Strengths of the framework

• The PEMSR Act, 2013 bans hazardous manual cleaning of sewers and septic tanks and requires rehabilitation of workers [2].
• In Dr. Balram Singh v. UoI (2023), the Court raised death compensation from ₹10 lakh (set in Safai Karamchari Andolan, 2014) to ₹30 lakh. It set at least ₹20 lakh for permanent disability and ordered manual sewer cleaning to be phased out [3].
• NAMASTE has profiled over 85,000 sewer workers and given them PPE kits and Ayushman cards [4].

Gaps in the legal framework

• Definitional loophole: the Act treats "hazardous cleaning" separately from "manual scavenging". Officials can therefore say manual scavenging has ended while sewer deaths go on [2].
• Weak deterrence: only 193 FIRs were registered against agencies and officials in five years, far fewer than the deaths [1].
• Reactive, not preventive: compensation comes after a death, and the Court still has to check compliance itself [3].
• Private premises: hospitals, hotels and housing societies hire informal workers outside municipal oversight. In 2026, workers died in a Raipur hospital's septic tank [5].

Gaps in the administrative framework

• Mechanisation deficit: no separate evaluation of mechanised sewer cleaning across States/UTs has been done [1].
• Outsourcing: urban local bodies (ULBs) contract the work out, and contractors often skip gas detectors and safety gear. This is why the Court asked for accountability mechanisms that cover such agencies [3].
• Fragmented responsibility: the Centre makes the law and schemes, States and ULBs handle sanitation, and the NCSK can only make recommendations.
• Caste blind spot: the work falls mostly on marginalised castes, which raises concerns under Articles 17 and 21.

The framework is strong on paper, but definitional loopholes, few prosecutions and slow mechanisation weaken it. The way forward is to:

• make any manual sewer entry an offence;
• hold principal employers, including private owners, liable;
• fund mechanised equipment for every ULB through NAMASTE and SBM-Urban 2.0;
• publish independent audits of deaths.

Measuring success by "zero sewer deaths" rather than "zero manual scavenging" would honour Article 21's promise of life with dignity and SDG 8's goal of decent work.