NAMASTE to be expanded to rural India, include more workers
The Indian government plans to expand the NAMASTE scheme to rural areas and include more sanitation worker categories, such as drain cleaners. Despite this, the National Commission for Scheduled Castes has raised concerns over the low approval rate for subsidies.
Why it matters
The expansion aims to improve safety for sanitation workers, but administrative hurdles continue to limit the effectiveness of the support provided.
Even as the government plans to expand its scheme to mechanise sanitation work, the National Commission for Scheduled Castes (NCSC) has been flagging the continued rejection of applications under the self-employment and capital subsidy components of the project.
The Social Justice Ministry has already moved a proposal to expand the scope of the National Action for Mechanised Sanitation Ecosystem (NAMASTE) scheme from towns and cities to rural parts of the country as well, officials said. As per this proposal, the scheme, started in 2023-24 with the aim of eradicating sewer and septic tank deaths, will now be expanded to include drain cleaners, and workers in sewage treatment plants (STPs), and faecal sludge treatment plants. The Ministry has proposed an outlay of around ₹498.73 crore for the expanded scheme, to be spent from this fiscal year to 2030-31.
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