Invisible Lives, Inadequate Policies: A Study on Manual Scavengers’ Welfare Policies

The persistence of caste-related jobs in India, despite constitutional safeguards and modernization, underscores deep-rooted structural disparities. One such occupation is manual scavenging, and due to being ostracized even by other Dalit groups, manual scavengers face significant social exclusion. A task force chaired by S. K. Basu made its first recommendations for rehabilitation in 1991. The efforts for the liberation and rehabilitation of manual scavengers were formally started with the enactment of legislation in 1993, although many studies and reports have pointed out the inadequacies of these initiatives. Although numerous government initiatives have been introduced to assist in the rehabilitation of manual scavengers, there is a scarcity of empirical studies regarding their real impact and effectiveness in Rajasthan. This study explores the gaps in the implementation of rehabilitation schemes for manual scavengers with a mixed-method research design and an ethnographic field study of 85 respondents. The district is one of the case study sites where the largest number of manual scavengers were identified in the 2011 census in the state of Rajasthan. Yet there were no surveys conducted by the state administration. The main argument centres on the insufficient information within the entire sanitation workers’ community, which needs to be addressed. Recognizing these gaps can help develop more inclusive policy design and implementation strategies that align with our aim of fulfilling constitutional goals of social justice and living with dignity.