The Madras High Court has said that the government should compensate scavengers who die of asphyxiation while cleaning septic tanks and manholes in privately-owned buildings.
Hearing a PIL filed by an NGO, Change India, a bench comprising of Chief Justice SK Kaul and Justice Pushpa Sathyanarayana, that the government cannot absolve itself of its responsibility and directed it to recover the compensation from private employers.
When the matter came up for hearing yesterday, Additional Advocate-General told the bench that there were 16 deaths in works engaged by private owners in the state, but no compensation was paid.
