SafaiMitra Surakshit Shehar

SafaiMitra Surakshit Shehar

Subject: Scheme

Section: Vulnerable

Context: 500 cities across India have declared themselves as ‘SafaiMitra Surakshit Shehar’.

Concept: 

• In a major achievement towards putting an end to manual cleaning of sewers and septic tanks, 500 cities across India have declared themselves as ‘Safai Mitra Surakshit Shehar’ by achieving targets for safety of all sanitation workers engaged in these tasks.
• These cities have adopted mechanised cleaning of sewers and in case any sanitation worker needs to enter a manhole, they are provided with adequate safety gear.
• By doing so, they have established that the cities are able to achieve adequacy in terms of institutional capacity, manpower and equipment norms as stipulated by MoHUA and are providing safe working conditions for SafaiMitras.
• The ‘SafaiMitra Surakshit Shehar’ declaration done by 500 cities aligns with Swachh Bharat Mission-Urban’s longstanding goal of promoting sustainable sanitation practices and acting as a catalyst for the transformation of every ‘manhole’ into a ‘machine hole’.
• The scheme was launched with the target of ensuring ‘zero fatalities in sanitation work’.
• On World Toilet Day in 2019, the urban affairs ministry had launched the ‘Safai Mitra Suraksha Challenge’ through which it had identified 100 lighthouse cities that were well equipped in terms of sanitation infrastructure and facilities.

The states have set up Responsible Sanitation Authorities (RSAs) and Emergency Response Sanitation Units (ESRUs) at the district level and are now prioritising training and capacity building of Safai Mitras.