NATIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION

SUMMER INTERNSHIP PROGRAMME 2017

STATE REPRESENTATION

HUMAN RIGHTS AND 24th STATE OF INDIA: UNPACKING

TAMILNADU

SUBMITTED BY:

M. SWARNA GEETHAM

B.A.B.L. (HONS)

SCHOOL OF EXCELLENCE IN LAW-TNDALU

CHENNAI, TAMILNADU

DATE OF SUBMISSION: 16-06-2017

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT:

I would like to express the deepest appreciation to our Director Dr Sanjay Dubey,
who has the attitude and the substance of a genius: he continually and convincingly conveyed
a spirit of adventure in regard to research and scholarship, and an excitement in regard to
teaching. Without his guidance and persistent help this project would not have been possible.

There are no proper words to convey my deep gratitude and respect for our Guide
and Research Advisor, Mr. Pankaj Kane who accompanied every student throughout the
work and many a times helped us cross the unavoidable bottlenecks. He has inspired us to
become an independent researcher and helped us realize the power of critical reasoning. He
also demonstrated what a brilliant and hard-working scientist can accomplish.

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OUTLINE MAP OF TAMILNADU

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INTRODUCTION TO TAMILNADU:

Tamil Nadu has glorious past, a vibrant culture, a rich history, and natural bounty in the
form of blue beaches and clear skies. Tamil Nadu is not about the past only, but it has set its
site on the future. The state is developing rapidly on all the fronts whether it is economy,
social, human resource, culture, and so on. Tamil Nadu is one of the top three Indian states,
which receive highest foreign investment in the sectors like automobiles, information
technology, power, telecommunication, and others. On the social front, the state has a high
per capita income, there is easy availability of social resources to people, and it produces
quite a large number of trained manpower to increase the productivity. No wonder that the
past and present in Tamil Nadu has a harmonious coexistence.

Country India Symbols

Formation 26 January 1950
Capital Chennai
Districts 32 Emblem
Government Srivilliputhur Andal temple
Body Government of
Tamil Nadu Language
Governor C. Vidyasagar Rao Tamil
Chief Minister Edappadi K.
Palaniswami Song
"Invocation to Goddess Tamil"
Chief Secretary Girija Vaidyanathan
IAS
Chief Justice Indira Banerjee Dance
Director General of T. K. Rajendran IPS Bharathanattiyam
Police
Area Animal
Total 130,060 km2 Nilgiri tahr
(50,220 sq mi)
Area rank 11th Bird
Population (2011) Emerald dove
Total 72,147,030
Rank 6th Flower
Density 550/km2 Gloriosa lily
(1,400/sq mi)
Demonym(s) Tamil Tree
Time zone IST (UTC+05:30) Palm tree
ISO 3166 code IN-TN
HDI 0.570 (medium) Sport
HDI rank 6th (2015) Kabaddi
Literacy 80.33% (2011)
Official language Tamil
Website www.tn.gov.in

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HISTORY OF TAMILNADU:

The region of Tamil Nadu, in the southeast of modern India, shows evidence of having
continuous human habitation from 15,000 BCE to 10,000 BCE. Throughout its history,
spanning the early Upper Palaeolithic age to modern times, this region has coexisted with
various external cultures. The Tamil region has remained independent of external occupation.
The Madras Presidency, comprising most of southern India, was created in the 18th century
and was ruled directly by the British. After the independence of India, after the Telugu,
Kannada, Tulu and Malayalam parts of Madras state were separated from Madras state in
1956, it was renamed as Tamil Nadu in 1969 by the state government. Tamil written
literature has existed for over 2000 years.

The above picture clearly defines the culture, heritage places, agriculture, and important
places in Tamilnadu. The following explains such in a brief manner,

GEOGRAPHY:

Tamil Nadu covers an area of 130,058 km2 (50,216 sq mi), and is eleventh largest state in
India. The bordering states are Kerala to the west, Karnataka to the North West and Andhra
Pradesh to the north. To the east is the Bay of Bengal and the state encircles the union
territory of Pondicherry. The southernmost tip of the Indian Peninsula is Kanyakumari which
is the meeting point of the Arabian Sea, the Bay of Bengal, and the Indian Ocean. Tamil
Nadu has a coastline of about 1,076 km (669 mi) which is the country's second longest
coastline.

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CLIMATE:

Tamil Nadu is mostly dependent on monsoon rains, and thereby is prone to droughts when
the monsoons fail. The state has two distinct periods of rainfall:

south west monsoon from June to September, with strong southwest winds;
North east monsoon from October to December, with dominant north east winds;

The annual rainfall of the state is about 945 mm (37.2 in) of which 48 per cent is through the
north east monsoon, and 32 per cent through the south west monsoon. Tamil Nadu is divided
into seven agro-climatic zones: north east, North West, west, southern, high rainfall, high
altitude hilly, and Kaveri Delta.

FLORA AND FAUNA:

There are about 2000 species of wildlife that are native to Tamil Nadu. Indian Angiosperm
diversity comprises 17,672 species with Tamil Nadu leading all states in the country, with
5640 species accounting for 1/3 of the total flora of India. Generally there are numerous
plants and animals in Tamilnadu.

NATIONAL PARKS:

Tamil Nadu has 5 declared National Parks with a total area over 307.84 km2 (118.86 sq mi),
covering only 0.24% of the state such as, Indira Gandhi National Park, Mudumalai National
Park, Mukurthi National Park, Gulf of Mannar Marine National Park, Guindy National Park,
Palani Hills National Park

GOVERNMENT OF TAMILNADU:

The Government of Tamil Nadu is the governing authority for the Indian state of Tamil
Nadu. It is seated at Fort St George, Chennai. TN was ruled by AIADMK which was started
by Dr. M.G.R, after his death J.Jayalalitha developed the party on her own, and the
opposition party was DMK which was ruled by Dr. karunanithi. The legislature of Tamil
Nadu was bicameral until 1986, when it was replaced by a unicameral legislature, like most
other states in India. The governor is the constitutional head of the state, speaker of the
legislative assembly is the legislative head of the state, and high court of madras is the
judicial head of the state. Administratively the state is divided into 32 districts. Chennai

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(formerly known as Madras) is the state capital. It is the fourth largest urban agglomeration in
India and is also one of the major Metropolitan cities of India. The state comprises 39 Lok
Sabha constituencies and 234 Legislative Assembly constituencies. The Tamil Nadu Police
Force is over 140 years old. It is the fifth largest state police force in India (as of 2015, total
police force of TN is 1,11,448) and has the highest proportion of women police personnel in
the country (total women police personnel of TN is 13,842) to specifically handled violence
against women in Tamil Nadu. Government of TN provides SETC in roadways and IRCTC
in railways. Tamilnadu has 4 international airports, has 3 major seaports, has the 3rd largest
installed power generation capacity in India

Tamilnadu in a single picture

RELIGION:

As per the religious census of 2011, Tamil Nadu had 87.6% Hindus, 6.1% Christians, 5.9%
Muslims, 0.1% Jains and 0.3% following other religions or no religion. Main festivals in
Tamilnadu are, Pongal, Tamil New Year, Diwali, Vinayaka Chathurthi, Eid ul-Fitr, Easter,
Bakrid, Ramzan, chithirai..

EDUCATION:

Tamil Nadu is one of the most literate states in India. Tamil Nadu has 37 universities, 552
engineering colleges, List of engineering colleges in Tamil Nadu, 449 Polytechnic Colleges,
and 566 arts and science colleges, 34335 elementary schools, 5167 high schools, 5054 higher

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secondary schools and 5000 hospitals. The Midday Meal Scheme programme in Tamil Nadu
was first initiated by Kamarajar, and then it was expanded by M G Ramachandran in 1983.

CULTURE:

Tamil Nadu has a long tradition of venerable culture. Tamil Nadu is known for its rich
tradition of literature, art, music and dance which continue to flourish today. Tamil Nadu is a
land most known for its monumental ancient Hindu temples and classical form of dance
Bharata Natyam. Tanjore painting, and Tamil architecture were developed and continue to be
practised in Tamil Nadu. Music in Tamil Nadu had different forms like, villupattu, carnatic
music, nattupurapattu, in modern cine-music ilayaraja; A.R.Rahman was a prominent
composer of film music in Tamilnadu. Tamils have a large number of folk dances. These are
performed for every possible occasion, to celebrate the arrival of seasons, birth of a child,
weddings and festivals. Tamil Nadu is also home to the Tamil film industry nicknamed as
"Kollywood", largest industry film production in India. There are more than 30 television
channels of various genres in Tamil.

AGRICULTURE:

Tamil Nadu has historically been an agricultural state and is a leading producer of
agricultural products in India. Agriculture is considered as a god by all peoples mainly by
farmers. The Cauvery delta region is known as the Rice Bowl of Tamil Nadu. The state is the
largest producer of bananas, turmeric, flowers, tapioca, the second largest producer of mango,
natural rubber, coconut, groundnut and the third largest producer of coffee, sapota, Tea and
Sugarcane. Dr M.S. Swaminathan, known as the "father of the Indian Green Revolution" was
from Tamil Nadu.

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 HUMAN RIGHT ISSUE IN TAMILNADU

MEANING OF MANUAL SCAVENGING:

Manual scavenger means a person engaged in or employed for manually carrying human
excreta, also means the practice of cleaning human excreta from dry latrines.

PROVISIONS FOR MANUAL SCAVENGING:

1. Manual Scavengers and the Construction of Dry Latrines Prohibition Act, 1993
which prohibits, the engagement or employment of persons for manually carrying human
excreta, and further prohibits the construction or maintenance of dry latrines all over India
and consider such activities as a criminal offence. It is well known that all manual scavengers
are Dalits.

2. In the preamble of The Constitution of India, it was stated that assuring the dignity of
the individual, means one dignity should be protected.

PRACTICE OF MANUAL SCAVENGING IN TAMILNADU:

Here I am going to cover the practice of Manual Scavenging in the State of TAMILNADU.

Tamil Nadu, which is considered to be one of the most urbanised States with its vast network
of underground drainage and septic tanks, continues to witness a significant number of deaths
of manual scavengers. But in general, comparing to the present status of Tamilnadu with 20
years back, manual scavenging was decreased in practice.

Manual scavenging is considered to be a human right issue, because of two reasons,

1. It affects the dignity of an individual.

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 2. It is a caste based occupation which creates discrimination.

As per the constitution of India, every individual should be treating with equality and dignity
in the society. If any action which affects an individuals right or dignity then it is consider to
be a human right issue. It's shocking if manual scavenging still persists. It's a disgrace for the
nation. The employers of manual scavengers should be fined and even jailed.

Manual scavengers are largely illiterate and have no exposure or aptitude for doing business
or taking up self employment ventures. This makes their rehabilitation in alternative
occupations very challenging.

In Tamilnadu the manual scavenging took place mostly in railway stations, where scavengers
used to clean the human excreta regularly to keep the railway tracks cleanly. Railway
department belongs to state government, so it was clear that manual scavengers was
appointed by state government where it violates the human rights.

However, in Tamilnadu peoples involved in manual scavenging are not visible in the society;
most of the incident occurs are hidden by authorities, and the family members of such
deceased scavengers are not properly getting compensation form the government. Tamilnadu
was not following any effective provisions against manual scavenging. The state of
Tamilnadu thus only provides compensation to the deceased scavengers family, but fails to
punish those individual who appointed the scavengers to involve in manual scavenging. Still
now no person has been convicted for employment of person in manual scavenging.

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As many as 52 manual scavengers have died in Chennai. The owners of hotels, marriage
halls and other commercial establishments claim that they are not aware of the ban on manual
scavenging, so by this reason many people are losing their lives.

In Chennai, many of the officials are also said to be promoting manual scavenging in many
areas that have illegal sewage inlets. Representatives of manual scavengers have demanded
action against violators. It was also pointed out that there is a shortage of sanitary inspectors
in all the urban local bodies, including the Chennai Corporation, which mainly allows the
practice of manual scavenging in Tamilnadu.

INTERVENTION BY SHRC & OTHER COMMISSIONS:

The national commission for safai kamacharis has been monitoring the various related
schemes, the demolition of dry latrines and conversion of dry latrines into wet latrines along
with the relief and rehabilitation of manual scavengers. The National Commission for Safai
Karamcharis former member Lata Omprakash Mahato, who has been visiting cities such as
Chennai for the past few years to study the conditions of manual scavengers, reports: The
Tamil Nadu government submitted a list of 339 manual scavengers. The Chennai Corporation
submitted a list of 252 persons. The data compiled by the government is not real. It is
misleading.

ROLE OF SHRC:

It is clarified that though the Commission has the power to inquire in violation of human
rights (or instigation thereof) by a public servant. Instances where the human rights are
violated by any individual citizen then the Commission can intervene, if there is failure or
negligence on the part of a public servant to prevent any such violation. Review the factors
that inhibit the enjoyment of human rights.

Till dated, SHRC didnt take any suo motto cases regarding manual scavenging.

Many deaths were occurred, and most of the victims didnt get the compensation properly
from the government. SHRC have to take effective measures regarding this issue in
Tamilnadu. NHRC have given many guidelines regarding the issue but it was not
implemented in proper manner. Whatever the steps taken by the government or any authority
or SHRC it was not properly implemented.

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ACTION TAKEN BY TAMILNADU GOVERNMENT:

In response to a question on manual scavenging in the Rajya Sabha on March 16, 2017,
Thawar Chand Gehlot, Minister for Social Justice and Empowerment, stated that as per
the provision of the Manual Scavenging Act, 2013, State governments, through their urban
and rural local bodies, were required to carry out a survey to identify manual scavengers, but
there was no steps taken by Tamilnadu government against such order.

Tamilnadu government doesnt take any steps to stop the manual scavenging in society, but it
will take actions only after any scavengers lose their lives, and too that action is not more
effective.

The Supreme Court order in 2014 directed that families of all persons who have died in
sewerage system (manholes, septic tanks) since 1993 be identified and a compensation of 10
lakh paid to their family members. The Tamil Nadu government has paid out to the families
of 141 deceased manual scavengers.

ACTION TAKEN BY PUBLICS ON THEIR OWN:

Divya Bharathi, a Madurai-based activist who has closely followed the cases of the death of
more than 20 conservancy workers across Tamil Nadu over one year for her recently-released
documentary Kakkoos (toilet), says: The Tamil Nadu government had not even formulated
its rules for the implementation of MS Act, 2013. The union government has formulated a
model set of rules. But even that is vague on investigation of violations.

ARTICLE:

@. In TOI, there was an article related to manual scavenging were, S. Muthulakshmi (20), a
resident of Heera Nagar near Melavasal in Madurai, was expecting her first child when her
husband A. Solainathan (26) died of asphyxiation while cleaning an underground sewer
inside a posh gated community in August 2016. Though Madurai district administration made
the residents association of the gated community cough up 10 lakh as compensation,
Muthulakshmi, a single mother now, feels that deaths like that of her husband will not stop
until stringent action is taken against those who engage workers for manual scavenging and
the hazardous cleaning of sewers.

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@. On March 17, 2017 three manual scavengers were killed in cuddalore district in
Tamilnadu, where workers were hit by toxic gases and died of asphyxiation while carrying
out repair works in the underground drainage system.

ISSUES:

1. What are the ways in which the manual scavengers can be gainfully employed in
other occupations, so that they do not return to manual scavenging?
Still now, government of Tamilnadu has not find out any way to stop the manual
scavenging in Tamilnadu.

RECOMMENDTION:

1. Funds for rehabilitation of manual scavengers

2. Sanitation facilities for citizen
3. Have to implement the manual scavengers law in an effective manner and have to
punish the employer of the scavengers.
4. New law have to be implemented by the state government.
5. Build automated waste recycling plants across India and reskill these scavengers to
operate these plants. As they have domain knowledge already they can easily blend in
the new system.

As a citizen of India, I would like to keep my country in a clean manner, and to treat every
individual equally and in dignified manner. So I request NHRC to take suo motto case on
manual scavenging issue in Tamilnadu, and to give relief to those scavengers by engaging
them in some other activities. Please take some effective steps before the critical situation
arises.

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