Delhi: Storm drain desilting raises ‘manual scavenging' alarm
Along a 100-metre stretch from the spot, there are multiple heaps of filth as over 50 workers toil to clear choked storm drains ahead of monsoon. This scene, repeated across hundreds of sites in Delhi, is part of the Capital's annual pre-monsoon desilting drive.
Yet, activists and rights groups say this distinction is both technical and misleading.
In cities like Delhi, stormwater drains, which generally only carry rainwater to canals from the roads, can often have drains 'puncturing' them. This has been acknowledged multiple times in official government submissions to courts, in NGT orders and by senior officials of drain-owning agencies.
'These stormwater drains are not clean rainwater channels. They're choked with sewage, industrial waste and sludge,' said Bezwada Wilson, a noted rights activist who was awarded the 2016 Magsaysay Award for his efforts to get justice for manual scavengers. 'If a person is made to get into these drains, neck-deep in filth without any safety gear, how is this not manual scavenging?'
Wilson said that the work violates both the Manual Scavenging Act and labour safety laws, citing observations from across the city—workers entering blackened, stinking drains, often laced with sewage. 'Machines should be doing this. The law is clear: no human should be entering such spaces unless absolutely necessary and with full protection,' he said.
Sanjay Gahlot, chairman of the Delhi Commission for Safai Karamcharis, echoed Wilson's concerns. 'Agencies and contractors are not able to understand that this too is manual scavenging. They are exploiting people by making them manually clear the filth. People's lives are being put at risk,' he said.
Public Works Department (PWD) manages 2,026km of small drains, which merge with larger drains under the jurisdiction of the Irrigation and Flood Control Department, which eventually empty into the Yamuna. The Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) oversees 12,892 smaller drains, spanning 6,067km.
Officials from both agencies did not respond to requests for comments on the matter.
Every year, these agencies carry out a large-scale desilting operation between April and June to prepare the city for the monsoon.
At the Munirka site, over 50 labourers were at work along a 100-metre stretch. Similar scenes were observed by HT on Monday near IIT Delhi, Deer Park, Hauz Khas, Safdarjung and near Jangpura. Meanwhile, PWD through its official handle shared similar images of men without protective gear entering filthy drains at places such as Paschim Vihar, Mangolpuri, Rohini and Jahangirpuri. Last month, workers were also seen clearing sludge from the Barapullah drain without gear, just before a high-profile government inspection.
The labour is outsourced through private contractors who hire workers—which activists said are mostly from marginalised communities—on a daily wage basis. They are paid between ₹500 to ₹700 a day, often without the legally mandated minimum wage benefits. According to the Delhi government, the current minimum wage for unskilled labour is ₹18,456 per month, or around ₹700 per day.
'This is seasonal work. I also work at tent houses for weddings during the rest of the year,' said Singh, 51, as he paused briefly by the roadside. 'It stinks, it burns your skin, but there's no other job. No one will pay this much for three months.'
A supervisor at a site near the National Institute of Health and Family Welfare claimed only minor sections of drains were being cleaned manually. 'We only ask workers to clean near the manholes. Machines will take care of the deeper parts,' he said. But workers at multiple sites contradict this.
Vikki Jeenwal, 40, pointed to cuts on his feet while working near Safdarjung Development Area. 'There's glass in the sludge. Sometimes it smells so bad I drink alcohol just to get through the day.'
His co-worker Sonu Beniwal, 27, added, 'There are gases that make you dizzy. We've heard people have died in such drains. But here, at least, we get ₹500 at the end of the day. Other jobs don't even pay on time.'
Kali Charan, 62, said his eyes water during the first few hours of work. 'I've never seen gloves or boots. Only once, when a TV crew came, the contractor gave us masks.'
Wilson emphasised that the law allows human entry into drains only in life-threatening emergencies, and even then with full protective gear and written approvals. 'Yet every monsoon, hundreds of men are forced to enter these filth-filled drains. This is not stormwater. This is neglect, and it is killing people slowly.'
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