In a historic judgement, the Calcutta High Court ordered the payment of ₹30 lakh as compensation for the death of four men during manual scavenging, where three other workers were also injured. The case dates back to 2021, in which the West Bengal State government and Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) to pay the family of the deceased and injured victims.
The order passed on November 21 has stated “The current equivalent of that amount is ₹30 lakhs. This shall be the amount to be paid, by concerned agency, i.e, the union, the union territory or the state as the case may be... The court hereby direct the union and states to ensure that the compensation for sewer deaths is increased (given that the previous amount fixed i.e., ₹10 lakhs) was made applicable from 1993.”
Killed by the job
The judgement was passed by the division bench of Chief Justice Sujoy Paul and Justice Chaitali Chatterjee Das. The bench noted that such deaths were “disheartening” to witness at this age in the country.
“This issue is a stark reminder of the countries ongoing struggle to ensure basic human dignity and rights for all citizens despite significant progress in various fields. Manual scavenging is a grave, human right, concern and its persistence is a blot on the nation’s conscience,” the order further added.
