NEW DELHI: After launching Swachh Bharat mission now the government proposes to protect the livelihood and interests of sanitation workers (safai karamcharis). In a draft Cabinet note circulated among ministries for comments, the labour ministry has proposed to make more of such casual employees with government agencies as “permanent” employees.

The note also proposes the need to prevent them from working in hazardous areas including septic tanks, which can pose threat to their health and lives, a government official said. In the past there have been several instances of safai karamcharis losing their lives after entering manholes and septic tanks for cleaning.

There are over 11 lakh safai karamcharis across the country.

Temporary or casual safai karamcharis demanding their regularsation has been a major issue among the sanitation workers across majority of the municipal bodies and local government agencies. These workers often going on strike cripples the cleanliness and sanitation of cities and towns.

Keeping their interest and the bigger role that they need to play in Prime Minister's pet project of complete cleanliness and sanitation by 2019, sources said that the labour ministry has pushed for the need of fixing working hours and wage for safai karamcharis.

Soon after PM Narendra Modi had kicked off the cleanliness mission, former Delhi chief minister and aam Aadmi Party chief Arvind Kejriwal Kejriwal had said the conditions of safai karamcharis is quite bad and the government should work to put an end to their woes. He had said that majority of these workers and are exploited by contractors and are thrown out of jobs for no reason.