NEW DELHI, June 28: The NHRC has issued notices to the Uttar Pradesh government and the state’s police chief over reports of three workers drowning in a tank of a sewage treatment plant of a multinational IT company in Gautam Buddh Nagar.
The authorities “failed to be alert” and conduct proper supervision keeping an eye on such hazardous activities in which the workers were deployed to undertake such dangerous work, the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) observed in a statement on Friday.
The commission has taken suo motu cognisance of a media report on three workers drowning in a sewage treatment plant of a multinational IT company in Greater Noida. The victims reportedly fell and drowned in the tank of the sewage treatment plant while repairing a submersible pump to fix overflowing sewer, it said.
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The NHRC observed that the content of the news report, if true, raises serious issues about the violation of the rights of the victims.
Accordingly, it has issued notices to the chief secretary and the director general of police of Uttar Pradesh, seeking a detailed report within a week, the statement said.
The report should include the status of the FIR registered, action taken against the persons responsible, as well as relief and rehabilitation provided to the next of kin of the deceased workers by the employer and the authorities concerned, it added.
The commission has been consistently advocating a total ban on activities of hazardous cleaning without adequate and proper protective or safety gears or equipment, the release said.
It also advocated suitable use of work-friendly and technology-based robotic machines, besides fixing responsibility and accountability of authorities, in case, death is caused to any sanitary worker while undertaking hazardous cleaning work, it added.
To that extent, the NHRC issued an advisory in September 2021 on the ‘Protection of human rights of the persons engaged in hazardous cleaning’ to the Central and state governments, and local authorities to ensure the complete eradication of such practice, officials said.
In the advisory, it is specifically observed that in case of any sanitary work or hazardous cleaning work, the local authority and the contractor or employers are to be held responsible and accountable, jointly and severally irrespective of the type of hiring or engagement of the sanitary workers, the statement said.
Besides this, the decision given by the apex court in the Dr Balram Singh vs Union of India case dated October 20,2023 provides the mandate that it is the duty of the local authorities and other agencies to use modern technology for cleaning of sewers, it said.
According to the media report, published on June 25, the three workers were in their twenties. They were deployed at the sewage treatment plant of the company as part of its maintenance team for the last two years, the NHRC said. (PTI)
