Tatsat Chronicle Magazine

Cabinet Extends Tenure Of The National Commission for Safai Karamcharis

Since the lapse of the National Commission for Safai Karamcharis Act in 2004, the Commission has been acting as a non-statutory body of the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment
January 20, 2022
Safai karmchari

The Union Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has approved the extension of the tenure of the National Commission for Safai Karamcharis (NCSK) by three years beyond 31 March 2022. The total expenditure for the expansion for three years will be around Rs.43.68 crore.

With the extension of the tenure of NCSK, the Safai Karamcharis and identified manual scavengers will be benefitted. On 31 December 2021, the number of manual scavengers identified under the ACT survey was 58,098.

Anurag Thakur, Union Minister for Information and Broadcasting, announced the extension during a press briefing. He said, “Cabinet has decided to extend the tenure of National Commission for Safai Karamcharis for the next three years from April 1, 2022. Now its term will be till 31 March 2025.”

NCSK was established in 1993 as per the provisions of the National Commission for Safai Karamcharis Act, 1993, initially for a period up to 31 March 1997. Later, the validity of the Act was extended to 31 March 2002 and, thereafter, to 29 February 2004. The NCSK Act ceased to be effective with effect from 29.02.2004. Thereafter, the tenure of NCSK as a non-statutory body has been extended through resolutions from time to time. The tenure of the present commission is till 31 March 2022.

The National Commission for Safai Karamcharis is currently a non-statutory body of the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment. The mandate of the body includes recommending to the central government specific programmes of action towards elimination of inequalities in status, facilities and opportunities for sanitation workers.

As per the provisions of the Prohibition of Employment as Manual Scavengers and their Rehabilitation Act, 2013, the NCSK has been assigned the work to monitor the implementation of the Act, tender advice for its effective implementation to the Centre and state governments and enquire into complaints regarding contravention/non-implementation of the provisions of the Act.