New Delhi : Union Minister for Social Justice and Empowerment, Virendra Kumar distributed Sanitation Kits and Ayushman Health Cards to Safai Karamcharis under the Central Government’s National Action for Mechanized Sanitation Ecosystem Scheme, in Mumbai In addition, Sanction Letters for subsidized low rate loan for purchase of mechanized cleaning vehicles under Swachhta Udyami Yojana were also distributed to some of the beneficiaries. The event witnessed the reaffirmation of Government’s commitment to the welfare of the underprivileged. This dedication to prioritizing the marginalized reflects the Government's broader vision of Viksit Bharat where every individual has the opportunity to contribute to and benefit from India's development journey.
Speaking on the occasion, Union Minister Virendra Kumar informed that the NAMASTE Scheme, which is jointly implemented by the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment and the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs has an objective of ensuring dignity and safety of sanitation workers and empowering them socially and economically. This scheme aims to formalize and institutionalize the persons engaged in hazardous cleaning of sewers and septic tanks and also promote safe and mechanized cleaning through trained sanitation workers. On the occasion the Union Minister also informed that waste pickers are also included as beneficiaries in the NAMASTE Scheme, along with sewer and septic tank workers and their profiling has also started.
Kumar said that NAMASTE scheme aims to take down the death rate to zero by providing training to the sanitation workers or ‘swachhata senani’ of the country. In these training programmes, the engineers and related municipality workers will also take part so that the whole system becomes well-prepared. For this purpose, profiling of sanitation workers has started in all municipalities around the country, to ensure safe working conditions and providing them with PPE kits and other safety devices.
The Union Minister also urged the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation sanitation workers present on the occasion to inform their fellow colleagues in other regions of the country about the benefits to be yielded from the NAMASTE scheme.