Nearly 500 sanitation workers died while cleaning sewers and septic tanks across India in seven-and-a-half years, but none of the fatalities was officially recorded as being due to manual scavenging.
Government data placed before the Lok Sabha shows that 498 workers died during sewer and septic-tank cleaning between January 1, 2019, and June 30, 2026.
The figures were provided by Minister of State for Social Justice and Empowerment Ramdas Athawale in a written reply to a question from Congress MP Rahul Gandhi.
498 Deaths, Zero Manual Scavenging Toll
The highest number of deaths was reported in 2019, when 132 workers died. Another 34 deaths were recorded in 2020, followed by 62 in 2021 and 88 in 2022.
The number stood at 65 in 2023, 54 in 2024 and 47 in 2025. Sixteen deaths were reported in the first six months of 2026, taking the total to 498.
Despite these figures, the government said: "No death has been reported due to manual scavenging."
Why The Numbers Don't Match
The answer lies in how the work is classified.
Under the definition cited by the government, manual scavenging involves manually handling human excreta from insanitary toilets, open drains, pits, railway tracks or other notified places before it fully decomposes.
Hazardous cleaning, meanwhile, refers to manually cleaning a sewer or septic tank without prescribed protective equipment, cleaning devices and safety precautions.
The Centre, therefore, recorded the 498 fatalities as deaths during hazardous sewer and septic-tank cleaning, rather than deaths due to manual scavenging.
The reply also said a survey conducted across all districts during 2024-25 did not identify a single manual scavenger. All districts subsequently declared themselves free of manual scavengers.
The latest finding contrasts with surveys conducted in 2013 and 2018, which identified 58,098 manual scavengers across 17 states.
More than half were in Uttar Pradesh, where 32,473 people were identified. Maharashtra had 6,325, Uttarakhand 4,988 and Assam 3,921.
Compensation Unclear In 78 Cases
The government also provided details of compensation paid in the 498 sewer and septic-tank cleaning death cases.
It said the compensation amount was increased from Rs 10 lakh to Rs 30 lakh following a Supreme Court judgment in October 2023.
The official data placed 345 cases in the full Rs 10 lakh payment category and 75 in the full Rs 30 lakh category.
Partial compensation was reported in 22 cases, while payment could not be confirmed in 56.
This means that in 78 cases, the data either showed partial payment or did not confirm that compensation had been paid.
Payment could not be confirmed in 20 of the 47 deaths reported in 2025.
For 2026, full payment of Rs 30 lakh was confirmed in six of the 16 cases reported till June 30. The compensation status of the remaining 10 could not be confirmed.
The Centre also said 89,915 sewer and septic-tank workers had been profiled under the National Action for Mechanised Sanitation Ecosystem, or NAMASTE, Scheme.
The programme provides safety equipment, training, health insurance and financial support for mechanised sanitation machinery.
But the government did not give a deadline for completely mechanising sewer and septic-tank cleaning. It also did not provide a time-bound plan for identifying affected workers afresh or rehabilitating them and their dependants.
