On Thursday, The Delhi High Court ordered municipal authorities to suspend the biometric system for marking attendance to avoid Coronavirus infection & asked to maintain a record of the equipment given to the safai karamcharis (sanitation workers) who report for duty.

The HC also said the register used by the safai karamcharis to sign while reporting for duty can account for the nature of equipment given to them on a daily basis & the nature of work they are required to perform.

"On a perusal of the affidavits & the material placed on record, we are satisfied that adequate steps have been taken by the state & civic authorities to ensure the safety of the safai karamcharis. We have also perused the WHO Guidelines filed by the petitioner," said a Division Bench of Chief Justice DN Patel & Justice Prateek Jalan.

The bench noted that the affidavits filed by various municipal corporations would show, by & large, the guidelines laid down by the WHO are being adhered to.

It said that "It has come on record that PPE Kits are being provided on a daily basis to the safai karamcharis required to enter the containment zones & these PPE kits are not reused. The affidavits also indicate that an adequate number of masks (surgical & N-95) & gloves are being provided to the safai karamcharis. The biomedical waste is also being disposed of in accordance with the mandate of the Pollution Control Board".

The bench said that the Advisory issued by the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare is clear & it recommends against the spraying of individual or group.

It said, "It states that the use of chemical disinfectant is physically & psychologically harmful for human beings. In view of this, the action of the Municipal Corporations in not setting up sanitizing cubicles is justified".

The Court passed above directions while disposing of the plea, filed by social activist Harnam Singh through Lawyer Mahmood Pracha, which sought directions for the safety of lakhs of sanitation workers who have been carrying out waste collection & disposal amidst the coronavirus crisis.

The affidavit filed by the Delhi Govt said that "Till June 1, 2,98,410 PPE kits have been procured from the Central Government out of which 2,75,700 PPE kits have been distributed to the GNCTD hospitals & other health institutions. 22,710 PPE kits have been distributed to CDMOs & the state authorities. Apart from the above, 21,500 PPE kits have been given to SDMC, 12,250 PPE Kits have been provided to EDMC & 15,500 PPE kits have been given to NDMC."

South Delhi Municipal Corporation in the affidavit on June 8, stated that about 14,000 safai karamcharis have been attending duty on a daily basis during the lockdown period.

SDMC told the Court that "There are 82 containment zones in the SDMC, as on June 4, 2020. One safai karamchari is being deputed in each containment zone for street sweeping only. All the safai karamcharis working in the containment zones are being provided PPE kits which are not reusable".

East Delhi Municipal Corporation stated that where there is barricading/police picket, the safai karamcharis do not enter the containment zone & the various households situated in those areas deposit their routine garbage/waste at barricade/entry points manned by the Police & safai karamcharis collect the garbage from the entry point.

It said that only the special designated team deals with garbage in quarantine/isolated households.

Whereas North Delhi Municipal Corporation stated that there are 59 Containment zones & two safai karamcharis have been provided for each containment zone who have been apprised of the standard operating procedure to be followed.

NDMC said that "There are 25 docking stations for the containment zones & these docking stations have been established only for the purposes of collection & removal of garbage for the areas in the Containment zones".

Before the HC, the petitioner had earlier approached the Supreme Court for securing the safety of the "vulnerable & highly exposed" sanitation workers. The apex court had disposed of the petition while recording the categorical submission that adequate safety equipment was being provided to them as per mandatory WHO guidelines.

The plea said that "Even though the order implies that the safety of all sanitation workers has been ensured by strict compliance with guidelines for disbursement of protective equipment to them, the petitioner has come across information from several sources, including news articles, of the completely hapless & offensive extent to which sanitation workers have been left to fend for themselves".

It said that the sanitation workers largely belong to economic weaker section & that these workers are unlikely to have the means & opportunity to approach the court, & therefore the petitioner moved the plea in the public interest.

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