Garhwal Post Bureau
DEHRADUN, 25 Jul: Dehradun Mayor Saurabh Thapliyal and Bhagwat Prasad Makwana, Vice-Chairman of the Uttarakhand State Safai Karamchari Commission, who holds the post equivalent to the rank of Minister of State, met Urban Development Minister Ram Singh Kaira at his Yamuna Colony residenceon Saturday to discuss the demands of the agitating Paryavaran Mitras (sanitation workers). During the meeting, Kaira assured them that he would hold discussions with Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami at the earliest and work towards an appropriate and lasting resolution of the issues.
Makwana submitted a memorandum to the Urban Development Minister outlining the key demands of the sanitation workers. These include increasing the daily honorarium of Paryavaran Mitras from Rs 500 to Rs 800, regularising Mohalla Swachhta Samiti workers, night drain gang workers and outsourced sanitation employees who have been serving for several years, approval of a revised sanitation workforce structure based on population norms and the Health Manual, and undertaking permanent recruitment of sanitation workers.
The memorandum also seeks the provision of land or housing for sanitation workers, extension of the benefits of the NAMASTE Scheme to them, and the supply of adequate safety equipment to workers engaged in sewer and septic tank cleaning. It further demanded strict implementation of the Prohibition of Employment as Manual Scavengers and their Rehabilitation Act, 2013, ensuring that sewer and septic tank cleaning is carried out through mechanised means instead of manual labour.
Other demands include abolition of the contract system in sanitation services, creation of permanent posts and an organisational structure for the State Safai Karamchari Commission, early appointment of a Secretary to the Commission, and payment of honorarium to Commission members on the lines of members of other state commissions.
Makwana insisted before the minister that all the demands raised by the sanitation workers are genuine and justified. He added that he had already discussed the matter with Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami, the Secretary, Urban Development, and the Director, Urban Development.
Mayor Saurabh Thapliyal also expressed support for the demands of the sanitation workers and called for their early resolution. Responding to the representations, Urban Development Minister Ram Singh Kaida reiterated that he would soon take up the matter with Chief Minister Dhami and seek an appropriate resolution to the issues.
