Madras HC directs state govt to involve septic tank cleaning

CHENNAI, Tamil Nadu: Intending to eradicate manual cleaning, the Madras High Court has directed the state government to make it mandatory that all septic tanks be cleaned by urban local bodies.

The comment of the apex court in the state came in response to a PIL moved against manual scavenging. The High Court bench consisted of Chief Justice Sanjay Vijaykumar Gangapurwala and Justice Sathya Narayana Prasad.

The bench expressed its displeasure over the fact that even though so many orders have been passed and the Employment of Manual Scavenging and Construction of Dry Latrines (Prohibition) Act, 1993, has been enacted, the practice still persists. The court noted that the head of the local bodies should be named in the FIRs filed in connection with the manual scavenging.