The Safai Karmachari Kavalu Samithi, Karnataka; the Centre for the Study of Social Inclusion, National Law School of India University; and Thamate (ತಮಟೆ) Centre for Rural Empowerment, and the Centre for Law & Policy Research jointly organised a two-day National Conclave on ‘Implementation and Challenges of the Prohibition of Employment as Manual Scavengers and their Rehabilitation Act, 2013,’ on February 19 and 20, 2025 at NLSIU, Bengaluru.

The Conclave which was inaugurated by Justice Nagamohan Das, retired judge of the Karnataka High Court, had a keynote address by former Rajya Sabha member Dr. L. Hanumanthaiah. Other speakers at the inaugural session were Dr. Ashwini K. P., UN Special Rapporteur, Contemporary Forums of Caste and Racism; Senior Advocate Jayna Kothari, Executive Director, Centre for Law & Policy Research; Dr. Du Saraswathi, writer, theatre person and Dalit activist; Prof. Babu Mathew, Faculty & Co-Director, Centre for Labour Studies, NLSIU and Prof. Asang Wankhede, D.Phil (Law) candidate, University of Oxford. Organisations and activists working for the rehabilitation of manual scavengers and safai karamcharis from across India participated in the Conclave, along with various other state-level organisations.

The two-day Conclave deliberated upon the recent Balram Singh v. Union of India judgment, the ongoing national survey to identify manual scavengers, the implementation of the NAMASTE scheme and Prohibition of Employment as Manual Scavengers and their Rehabilitation (PEMSR) Act, 2013. The state-level organisations and South Asian Sanitation Workers and Labour Network (SASLN) in their presentations highlighted the ground realities on the existence of manual scavenging, and sewer and septic tank cleaning.

Outcome

The two-day Conclave culminated with the formation of a national-level coalition which would work to eliminate all forms of manual scavenging.

Context and Rationale

The PEMSR Act was a landmark legislation aimed at eradicating the inhuman and degrading practice of manual scavenging in India. However, more than a decade since its enactment, significant challenges persist in its full implementation. Reports indicate that manual scavenging continues in various parts of the country, often disguised under different forms of employment due to gaps in policy enforcement, lack of rehabilitation mechanisms, and deep-rooted social stigmas.

Given these persistent challenges, the formation of a national-level coalition is imperative. This coalition will act as a unified platform to streamline policy implementation, ensure accountability, facilitate knowledge-sharing, and enhance coordination between central and state governments, civil society organisations, and stakeholders working on the ground.

Objectives of the National-Level Coalition

1. Strengthen Policy Implementation: Identify gaps in enforcement, recommend reforms, and push for comprehensive compliance across states.
2. Enhance Accountability Mechanisms: Establish mechanisms for regular monitoring and transparent reporting on the implementation status of the Act.
3. Foster State and Central Coordination: Ensure uniformity in interpretation and execution of the law while addressing region-specific challenges.
4. Empower Affected Communities: Advocate for holistic rehabilitation, skill development, and livelihood programmes to support manual scavengers and their families.
5. Mobilise Resources: Facilitate financial support, technological interventions, and infrastructure development to eliminate manual scavenging.
6. Advocate for Stronger Legal Action: Push for strict legal action against violators and timely redressal mechanisms for affected individuals.
7. Engage Civil Society and Experts: Leverage the expertise of NGOs, activists, legal professionals, and academics to drive systemic change.

Strategic Plan for the Way Forward

1. Institutionalisation of the Coalition

• Formation of a national steering committee with representatives from the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, state governments, civil society organisations, and legal experts.
• Establishment of state-level task forces to coordinate with the national coalition and facilitate local implementation.
• Regular national and regional review meetings to assess progress and challenges.

2. Strengthening Legislative and Policy Frameworks

• Urgent review of existing policies to identify implementation gaps and propose necessary amendments.
• Development of a national action plan with a clear roadmap, timelines, and accountability structures.
• Ensuring stringent penalties and legal action against violations of the MS Act 2013.

3. Enhancing Rehabilitation and Livelihood Opportunities

• Creation of skill development programmes in collaboration with industry partners to provide alternative employment.
• Expanding financial assistance and support schemes, ensuring direct benefit transfers for affected individuals.
• Ensuring proper housing, healthcare, and education support for former manual scavengers and their families.

4. Deploying Technology to Eliminate Manual Scavenging

• Promotion and scaling of mechanised cleaning solutions across urban and rural areas.
• Government subsidies and incentives for local bodies to procure and utilise mechanised cleaning equipment.
• Establishing monitoring dashboards for real-time tracking of implementation and grievance redressal.

5. Advocacy and Social Awareness

• National and state-level campaigns to challenge the stigma around manual scavenging and its affected communities.
• Media partnerships to highlight success stories and expose violations of the law.
• Engagement of religious, cultural, and community leaders to shift societal perceptions and ensure dignity for rehabilitated individuals.

6. Ensuring Data Transparency and Accountability

• Development of a national database to track affected individuals, their rehabilitation status, and ongoing legal actions.
• Annual status reports to be presented before the Parliament and state Assemblies.
• Strengthening of independent monitoring bodies with active civil society representation.

Conclusion

The formation of a national-level coalition is not just a strategic necessity but a moral imperative to uphold the dignity and rights of those affected by manual scavenging. By ensuring a multi-stakeholder, rights-based approach, this coalition will serve as a powerful force in eliminating manual scavenging and ensuring the full realisation of the objectives outlined in the PEMSR Act 2013. The Conclave must now focus on operationalising this coalition with clear responsibilities, timelines, and measurable outcomes for each state and stakeholder.

Gallery

The National Law School of India University (NLSIU) solicits proposals from qualified bidders for “Reconstruction of New Academic Block at NLSIU” in accordance with the specifications and requirements as per the notification below.

Date of Issue of Tender: 28.02.2025
Last Date for Submission of Technical and Commercial Bids: Up to 5.00 PM on 21.03.2025
Revised Last Date for Submission of Technical and Commercial Bids: Up to 5.00 PM on 28.03.2025

Note: Technical and Commercial bids should be submitted separately, in separate sealed envelopes.

For more details along with the terms and conditions, please read the following:

1. Tender Document
2. Annexure-1: BOQ and Drawings for the Reconstruction of New Academic Block at NLSIU
3. Addendum-2: Extension of Timelines for Tender “Reconstruction of New Academic Block at NLSIU”
4. Addendum: Revised BOQ and Drawings for the Reconstruction of New Academic Block at NLSIU
5. Corrigendum: Pre-Bid Meeting

On February 25, 1984, the foundation stone of NLSIU was laid by the then Chief Justice of India, Hon’ble Mr. Justice Yeshwant Vishnu Chandrachud.

Building upon the vision of its first Founder-Director Prof. N R Madhava Menon, NLSIU has come a long way in its journey – of not just reimagining legal education, but also delivering a transformative and multidisciplinary educational experience.

41 years later, we embark on an exciting large-scale expansion of the NLSIU campus in 2025 – the largest and the most intensive yet, since the University’s inception in 1986.

Through a comprehensive master plan of our campus, we look forward to developing high quality facilities, as well as fostering and strengthening a strong campus culture, and addressing the growing needs of an expanding community of students, faculty, researchers, and staff.

Down Memory Lane

The list of distinguished invitees for the foundation stone laying ceremony in 1984 included the then:

• Vice-President of India, Hon’ble Mr. Justice Mohammad Hidayatullah
• Governor of Karnataka, Hon’ble Mr. A.N. Banerji
• Chief Minister of Karnataka, Hon’ble Mr. Ramakrishna Hegde
• Chief Justice of Karnataka, Hon’ble Mr. Justice V.S. Malimath
• Chairman of BCI, Mr. Ranjit Mohanty
• Sr. Advocate and Chairman elect of BCI, Mr. Biswanath Bajpayee
• Managing Trustee of BCI Trust, Mr. V.R. Reddy
• Sr. Advocate, Mr. Nani A. Palkhivala
• Sr. Advocate and Member of BCI, Mr. Ram Jethmalani
• Sr. Advocate and Member of BCI, Mr. Rajendra Singh
• Director Designate of NLSIU, Prof. Upendra Baxi

Gallery

Ms. Swati Sao
Manager – Academics-Administration

Swati Sao is a seasoned professional in higher education management with over 15 years of experience in academic administration, programme management, and faculty coordination. In her most recent role at ISB, she ensured the seamless execution of academic operations for postgraduate modular programmes.

Her expertise includes programme execution, faculty support, student engagement, and managing partnerships with international universities such as Wharton, INSEAD, and LBS. She is also skilled in academic audits, budget planning, and forecasting.

Swati holds a Bachelor of Commerce (Hons) from the University of Calcutta, and a Master of Business Administration (MBA) in Human Resources from Sikkim Manipal University. She has also completed leadership and management programmes at ISB.

She can be reached at .

 

Dr. Angarika Rakshit
Assistant Professor, Social Science

Angarika is a Development Economist, with research interests in issues of structural transformation, employment generation, and the political economy of development. Her work focuses on understanding the processes of structural change that is unfolding in India, and what these changes entail for different social and economic groups of individuals.

She has worked as a Post-doctoral Research Fellow at the Centre for Sustainable Employment at Azim Premji University, where she co-authored the 2023 State of Working India Report on Social Identities and Labour Market Outcomes. She is currently part of the team working on the 2025 State of Working India Report.

Angarika holds a BSc (Hons) in Economics from the University of Calcutta, an MA in Economics from JNU, and a PhD from IIT Delhi. In 2020, Angarika was awarded the Fulbright-Nehru Doctoral Research Fellowship in Economics, which enabled her to undertake research as a visiting fellow at the University of Massachusetts Amherst during her PhD.

She can be reached at .

Ms. Geetanjali Sharma
Assistant Professor, Law

Geetanjali practiced litigation and advocacy in intellectual property law and access to medicines in Delhi. She has previously worked at the Department of European and International law as a Research Assistant where she coached the university team for the European Law Moot Court Competition and worked on ongoing publications. She has also taught European Union law to postgraduate students at the Free University, Berlin.

Her research interests include right to health and access to medicines, intellectual property law as well as European law and climate justice.

She has a BSc LLB (Hons) from National Law University Jodhpur, and an LLM from Europa Institut, Saarland University, Germany, supported by the DAAD Jawaharlal Nehru and Angela Merkel scholarships. She is currently pursuing her doctoral studies on the principle of mutual trust in European Union law at the Free University, Berlin.

She can be reached at .

Ms. Garima Gupta
Assistant Professor, Law

Garima has previously worked with the Corporate Legal Department of HDFC Limited, Mumbai (Head Office). She has also taught elective courses as a Visiting Faculty at NALSAR.

Garima has a BA LLB from NUSRL, Ranchi, and an LLM from NALSAR. She is currently pursuing her Ph.D. from NALSAR on the topic ‘Competition in Data-Driven Digital Markets: An Antitrust Analysis’.

Garima also enjoys reading and has a deep interest in music.

She can be reached at .

Faculty

Mr. Siddharth Saxena
Assistant Professor – Law

Siddharth has worked as a Lecturer of Law and Assistant Dean for Research at the Jindal Global Law School. While working at JGLS, he was a Visiting Scholar at the Centre for Comparative Constitutional Studies, Melbourne Law School. He has previously worked as a Bonavero Institute Fellow at the Bingham Centre for the Rule of Law, British Institute of International and Comparative Law, and as a Graduate Research Fellow at the Centre for Justice Law & Society.

His primary research interests lie in the broad areas of public law and legal theory. He is currently researching on the regulation of universities and academic freedom

Siddharth completed his BA LLB (Hons) degree from JGLS on the Savitri Jindal Studentship. He read for the Bachelor of Civil Law and M.Phil in Law at the University of Oxford on the Ambriti Salve Scholarship from Exeter College. At Oxford, he was also a Graduate Research Resident at the Bonavero Institute of Human Rights.

He can be reached at .

Administrative Staff

Ms. Deepti Soni
Director – Communications and External Relations

With over 20 years of experience, Deepti Soni is a communications and management professional with extensive experience in media, diplomatic missions, international organisations, academia, and PR & communications agencies. She has a proven track record in PR and strategic communications, stakeholder management, project management, crisis communications, and digital media. She has worked with organisations like the British High Commission in India, International Committee of the Red Cross, and Indian School of Business. She is adept at leading cross-regional teams, fostering government relations, and championing diversity and inclusion.

Deepti holds a Bachelor in Science from the University of Lucknow and a PG Diploma in Advertising and Public Relations from the Indian Institute of Mass Communication, New Delhi. She is also an aspiring shooter (10 m air pistol) and is a State level medal winner.

At NLSIU, she will help develop, implement, and enhance strategies and internal processes across the following functions:
– Communications
– Alumni Relations
– Careers and Placement
– Development/Fundraising
– Admissions.

She can be reached at .

Mr. Shailendra Pratap Singh
Manager, Academic Administration

Shailendra brings over eight years of extensive experience in academic administration, program management, strategic initiatives, and institutional governance.

Prior to joining NLSIU, he served as Manager in the Office of the Pro Vice-Chancellor at Ashoka University, where he was instrumental in overseeing university governance, policy development, administrative operations, budgeting, compliance, event management, and accreditation processes. He also held key positions at O.P. Jindal Global University where he managed academic operations for the Business School, led teams, and contributed to institutional accreditations among other responsibilities. He has also worked with MIT Vishwashanti Gurukul (Pune) and BML Munjal University (Gurgaon), and was involved in student affairs, operations, and event planning.

Shailendra has a BA from Chhatrapati Shahu Ji Maharaj University, Kanpur. He also has a certification in Effective Management Skills and Leadership from the Asian Institute of Technology, Thailand.

He can be reached at .

Research Staff

Ms. Aditi Thakur
Research Assistant – Legal, Centre for Child and the Law

Aditi has joined the ‘Right to Food’ team at CCL. She has previously worked on child rights issues across various districts of Bihar. She has also served as a Legal Consultant for FaMeTN (MSME Department, Government of Tamil Nadu).

Aditi received her B.A. LL.B. (Hons.) from National Law Institute University, Bhopal, in 2021. She completed her LLM in Law and Development from Azim Premji University, Bengaluru, in 2024.

She can be reached at .

 

Ms. Akshaya P
Research Assistant, Centre for Child and the Law

Akshaya has joined the ‘Right to Food’ team at CCL. Her research interests lie at the intersection of gender politics, labour economics, social justice, and social inclusion. She is passionate about exploring how gender and caste identities interact with labour market forces that shape the economy.

Akshaya is also profoundly interested in feminist and queer social activism. She regularly engages with movements that advocate for the rights of marginalised communities. She has also contributed to research projects that deal with the challenges and opportunities around social security for unorganised sector workers.

Akshaya holds an integrated MA in Development Studies from IIT Madras. She also holds a Junior Research Fellowship in Sociology (UGC).

She can be reached at .