NHRC, India F. Rights of scheduled castes/scheduled tribes/other backward classes/other minorities and issues of manual scavenging 7.45 The Scheduled Castes (SCs), Scheduled Tribes (STs), along with OtherBackward Classes (OBCs), minorities and marginalised are some of the most disadvantaged groups in India. Their vulnerability and marginalisation often put them to disadvantage when accessing fundamental needs like education, gaining employment and other life opportunities. 7.46 NHRC has been proactive in monitoring state adherence towards implementation of Protection of Civil Rights (PCR) Act, 1955 andScheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989. The Commission has also strongly recommended punitive measures against discriminatory practices. In furtherance, the Commission also receives inputs from the Chairperson of National Commission for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes and Backward Classes. 7.47 The Prohibition of Employment as Manual Scavengers and their Rehabilitation Act, 2013, gives a detailed definition of ‘manual scavenger’ in Section 2 (g) as, “a person engaged or employed, at the commencement of this Act or at any time thereafter, by an individual or local authority or an agency or a contractor, for manually cleaning, carrying, disposing of, or otherwise handling in any manner, human excreta in an insanitary latrine or in an open drain or pit into which the human excreta from the insanitary latrines is disposed of, or on a railway track or in such other spaces or premises, as the Central Government or a State Government may notify, before the excreta fully decomposes in such manner as may be prescribed, and the expression ‘manual scavenging’ shall be construed accordingly.” 7.48 The practice of manual scavenging is illegal in India. Various laws, mentioned in the succeeding paragraphs, have outlawed the practice for the last 60 years: i. The Protection of Civil Rights (PCR) Act, 1955, made it an offense to compel any person to practice manual scavenging. ii. The Employment of Manual Scavengers and Construction of Dry Latrines (Prohibition) Act (1993) punished the employment of manual scavengers or the construction of dry latrines with imprisonment for up to one year and/or a fine of 2000 rupees. iii. The Prohibition of Employment as Manual Scavengers and their Rehabilitation Act, 2013, which superseded the 1993 Act, outlaws all forms of manual scavenging (beyond just dry latrines), prescribing penalties for those who perpetuate the practice and protecting those who engage in it. 7.49 The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) of India considers the systematic exclusion of certain communities a grave violation of human rights. It has been deeply concerned about the inhuman and degrading practice of employment of person for manual handling or manual cleaning, carrying, disposing of or otherwise handling in any manner, human excreta in an insanitary latrine or in an open drain, pits, railway track, private homes and toilets maintained by the Municipal Corporations, etc. It is committed to work towards promotion and protection of the rights of SCs, ANNUAL REPORT 86 2021-22