‘Machines don't work everywhere': CM as PWD posts pics of labourers cleaning drain without safety gear

Indian Express

03-06-2025

A social media post put up by the Public Works Department (PWD) on its official X handle on Tuesday, showing labourers waist-deep in a stormwater drain while carrying out desilting work on a road in North West Delhi's Rohini, has triggered criticism from various quarters.
In the pictures posted by the PWD, eight labourers were seen at the site. Four of them were inside a drain, scooping out garbage and silt without wearing shirts or proper safety gear like boots, gloves, and masks for protection.
Responding to the controversy, Chief Minister Rekha Gupta said, 'Look, every drain has its own situation. Machines don't work everywhere, and people don't work everywhere either. There may be places where machines can't reach. Right now, the government's target is to ensure that all drains are completely cleaned, and the work is being carried out with full attention to the court's guidelines.' The post, which sparked the row, has now been deleted, and officials said that a PWD junior engineer has been placed under suspension.
Lashing out at the ruling party, AAP Delhi convenor Saurabh Bharadwaj tagged the Delhi Police Commissioner in his post on X and alleged that manual scavenging, which is illegal in India, was being carried out at the site. 'The BJP government has always exploited the Dalits and the poor. See how manual scavenging is being done. Legal action should be taken against them @CPDelhi.'
As per the PWD post, in which the CM and PWD Minister Parvesh Sahib Singh were also tagged, the labourers were working on Road number 41A, Rohini.
When asked about manual scavenging claims, a senior PWD official said that the drains falling under its jurisdiction are stormwater drains where only rainwater enters. 'Manual scavenging is when a worker is entering the sewer, which is filled with human wastes and excreta…But PWD drains are stormwater drains, which only carry out rainwater, and the department uses machines for desilting work. In these areas, machines cannot enter due to narrow lanes. Workers wearing proper safety gear are deployed,' said the official.
He said the PWD took cognizance of the pictures posted on its handle and has taken action against the junior engineer of that area.
'We saw that workers were not wearing any safety gear… not even gloves…Seeing the seriousness of the matter, we have placed the JE concerned under suspension and have also issued warning orders to all the engineers in this regard…They have also been asked to ensure that the workers are equipped with proper gear,' said the official.
Manual scavenging is the practice of removing human excreta by hand from sewers or septic tanks. India banned the practice under the Prohibition of Employment as Manual Scavengers and their Rehabilitation Act, 2013 (PEMSR). Hundreds of manual scavengers have died in the past decade after inhaling toxic fumes while cleaning sewers and septic tanks.
In 2013, the definition of manual scavengers was also broadened to include people employed to clean septic tanks, ditches, or railway tracks. The Act recognises manual scavenging as a 'dehumanising practice,' and cites a need to 'correct the historical injustice and indignity suffered by the manual scavengers'.
However, in Delhi, PWD has been blaming the MCD for the illegal puncturing of stormwater drains over the years, especially during monsoon, when waterlogging occurs. This makes the implementation of the Act difficult, as per officials.
PWD manages about 2,100 km of stormwater drains and manages 12,892 small drains spread over around 6,067 km. These merge with big drains like Najafgarh and Barapullah drain, which come under the Irrigation and Flood Control Department (I&FC), and as some big drains cannot be tapped, the untreated water eventually flows into Yamuna.
As part of the pre-monsoon drive to prevent waterlogging, the desilting work is being carried out by the PWD on a large scale across the city.
The department had earlier posted pictures of several other areas like Munirka, Mangolpuri, Safdarjung enclave, Mayur Vihar, IIT Delhi, Lajpat Nagar, Jangpura, New Friends Colony, and several other locations where workers are seen inside the drains cleaning it.
Last month, L-G VK Saxena and the CM visited a site in South Delhi's Barapullah where workers were cleaning drains without wearing any safety gear.