Ragpickers demand institutionalised compensation schemes amid pandemic
new delhi: Delhi's ragpickers and waste pickers under the aegis of Safai Sena have now said that they have been neglected by the state government and civic bodies, which has left over 40,000 of its members in a soup with around 30 per cent of them resorting to other professions. Safai Sena Secretary Jai Prakash Choudhary said that they had written to Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and MCDs but are yet to receive a response from either.
North Delhi Mayor, Jai Prakash said that the North MCD set up 36 stations in the district to distribute PPE kits, gloves and masks and "kadha" to boost immunity along with giving a job to a safai karamchari's family member in case of loss of life. He said, "Since we are facing a fund crisis we could not give financial assistance but South MCD has provided that." He also said that it is the Delhi government's responsibility to provide financial assistance as their budget is over Rs 60,000 crore.
In a report submitted to the Supreme Court, the Environment Pollution (Prevention and Control) Authority (EPCA) said the Capital generated 349 tonnes of biomedical waste per day in July - the highest in the country and much of the biomedical waste is not segregated from other waste. This puts the waste pickers at high risk as they sift through the common waste.
Moreover, the Delhi government has not yet issued a specific SoP for the functioning of ragpickers and many of them are confused as to what is allowed and what is not.
Safai Sena, formerly known as Rashtriya Safai Seva Sangathan (RSSS) – a registered group of waste pickers, doorstep waste collectors, and other itinerants – has sought help from NGOs like Chintan which have provided dry ration to 5,000 waste pickers and 8,000 PPE kits. Choudhary said before the lockdown, the income of a waste picker was between Rs 400-500 a day but now they struggle to make Rs 100.
"Construction workers, auto taxi and e-rickshaw drivers received financial assistance of Rs 5,000, so why not us? We have been struggling since the beginning of the pandemic and we do not have an alternative job or means of livelihood," he said.
Head of Advocacy and Policy at Chintan, Chitra Mukherjee said that waste management comes under the "essential services" that are provided by the "informal workforce". Mukherjee elaborated that waste pickers help recycle approximately 66 per cent of solid waste in the city. "We request the government to acknowledge their work, and also help compensate their livelihoods in these difficult times," she added. Repeated attempts to illicit a response from the Delhi government were unfruitful.
