The Wire Staff 
New Delhi: The Supreme Court has expressed strong dissatisfaction with the authorities in Kolkata, Delhi, Bengaluru and Hyderabad over their failure to provide a clear plan to eradicate manual scavenging and manual sewer cleaning in their cities. The court has sought their presence in the next hearing.
Despite claiming that the practice has been stopped, Kolkata, Delhi, and Hyderabad have witnessed deaths due to manual scavenging, prompting the court to seek explanations from the authorities, Live Law reported.
The apex court’s directives come after a writ petition was filed seeking the eradication of manual scavenging in India. On January 29, a two-judge bench of Justices Sudhanshu Dhulia and Aravind Kumar banned manual scavenging and manual sewer cleaning in six metropolitan cities, including Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Bangalore, and Hyderabad.
Further, the court had directed the chief executive officer, or an officer of equivalent designation, of each metropolitan city to file a precise affidavit by February 13 with details on how and when the practice is stopped in their city.
The authorities in Mumbai and Chennai have filed satisfactory affidavits, and the court has directed them on February 19 to provide detailed information on the machines and equipments used to replace manual scavenging and sewer cleaning. However, the authorities in Bengaluru, Kolkata, Delhi, and Hyderabad have failed to provide satisfactory responses, prompting the court to seek their presence in the next hearing.
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The Supreme Court has also sought explanations from these authorities on why criminal prosecution should not be initiated against officers or contractors responsible for hiring manual scavengers or have been responsible for the deaths due to manual scavenging and sewer cleaning, as per the report.
According to the court, Hyderabad’s response lacked clarity on how and when manual scavenging was stopped. Further, it didn’t explain how three deaths in the past year happened due to manual scavenging in the city. The managing director of Hyderabad Metropolitan Water & Sewerage Board has been asked to appear in the next hearing.
In Kolkata, the court found that the affidavit filed by the Kolkata Municipal Corporation was not satisfactory, and three deaths occurred due to manual scavenging on February 2. The court has directed the municipal commissioner to be present in the next hearing.
In Delhi, the court found that the affidavit filed by the Delhi Jal Board was evasive and did not explain the seven deaths that occurred due to manual scavenging last year. The court has directed the director of the Delhi Jal Board to be present in the next hearing.
Similarly, Bengaluru’s Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) failed to submit an affidavit, prompting the court to summon the commissioner to the next hearing.
The matter will be heard on March 20.