The budget documents showed that the allocation for the Self-Employment Scheme for Rehabilitation of Manual Scavengers had been raised four-fold from Rs 5 crore last time. The Manual Scavengers Act bans the practice in all forms and provides for the rehabilitation of such workers. According to 2011 census data, there were 8 lakh dry latrines and 3 lakh manual scavengers cleaned them. In a written reply in the Rajya Sabha last August, the government had said 13,368 manual scavengers had been identified in 13 states. "The government's figure of 13,000 manual scavengers is wrong.

Source: The Telegraph February 01, 2018 20:48 UTC