Use robots for septic tank work: NCSC

Addressing media reporters after a review meeting in Coimbatore, NCSC Vice Chairman L Murugan on Friday said, “Just like Kerala and Hyderabad have done, the Chennai Corporation has been advised to use robots to clean septic tanks.”

This is a significant recommendation by the Commission to eliminate manual scavenging and prevent deaths that arise from it. Kerala and Hyderabad have already been utilizing the services of robots to clean sewer holes.

“The civic body authorities have also indicated that they are considering to implement the measure,” Murugan said.

He further said that the commission has identified around 5,000 acres of Panchami land (land assigned to Dalits) under encroachment across 16 districts in Tamil Nadu.

“Of this, efforts have been taken to retrieve 2,000 acres from encroachers and give it away to beneficiaries,” Murugan said.

The Commission has also sought information from states like Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh, where violence broke out after Supreme Court relaxed the SC/ST laws, regarding the extent of property damage and losses of life.