Understanding the Manual Scavengers Act, 2013
The Prohibition of Employment as Manual Scavengers and their Rehabilitation Act, 2013, was enacted to address the persistent issue of manual scavenging in India.
Key Objectives of the Act
The Act has multifaceted objectives aimed at eradicating manual scavenging and supporting those affected. These objectives are:
- Objective (a): To prohibit employment of manual scavengers
The primary goal is to completely ban the practice of employing people for cleaning or disposing of human excreta in insanitary latrines, either manually or through such specified tasks.
- Objective (b): To rehabilitate manual scavengers
The Act mandates measures for the rehabilitation of individuals who were previously employed as manual scavengers. This involves providing them with alternative livelihood opportunities.
- Objective (c): To rehabilitate manual scavengers and their families
Recognizing the impact on the entire household, the rehabilitation efforts extend not just to the manual scavengers themselves but also to their family members, ensuring holistic support and integration into mainstream society.
Option (d) is incorrect because the Act explicitly includes the rehabilitation of families, not just the scavengers themselves.
Conclusion based on Objectives
Based on the analysis, the main objectives covered by the Act align with:
- Prohibiting the employment of manual scavengers (a).
- Rehabilitating the manual scavengers (b).
- Rehabilitating the manual scavengers and their families (c).
Therefore, the correct combination of objectives is (a), (b), and (c).