SRINAGAR: Jammu and Kashmir has 727 sewer and septic tank workers (SSWs) and 4,507 waste pickers validated under the Union Government’s National Action for Mechanised Sanitation Ecosystem (NAMASTE) scheme, according to data placed before the Lok Sabha on Tuesday.
The figures, valid as of July 20, 2026, were provided by Minister of State for Social Justice and Empowerment Ramdas Athawale in a written reply to Lok Sabha Unstarred Question No. 1599 concerning the National Commission for Safai Karamcharis.
Ladakh, meanwhile, has 21 validated SSWs and one waste picker under the scheme, the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment said.
Nationally, 89,915 SSWs and 2,85,165 waste pickers had been validated under NAMASTE as of July 20. JK’s validated SSW count accounts for less than one per cent of the national total, while its 4,507 waste pickers represent about 1.6 per cent of the all-India figure.
The Ministry said NAMASTE was launched in 2023-24 to ensure the safety and dignity of sewer and septic tank workers, with components of the erstwhile Self Employment Scheme for Rehabilitation of Manual Scavengers (SRMS) subsumed into it. Waste pickers were included as beneficiaries from 2024-25.
The Union Government also said that a fresh survey of manual scavengers, conducted in all districts across the country under the Prohibition of Employment as Manual Scavengers and their Rehabilitation Act, 2013, found no manual scavenger.
However, 58,098 manual scavengers had been identified during surveys conducted in 2013 and 2018. The Ministry said all 58,098 had received one-time cash assistance, while 27,926 had received skill development training and 2,803 had received capital subsidy for general projects.
The data supplied in the reply does not list JK or Ladakh among the States where manual scavengers were identified in the 2013 and 2018 surveys.
The Ministry further said that 637 sanitation workers across the country lost their lives during hazardous cleaning of sewers and septic tanks between January 1, 2017, and June 30, 2026, according to data reported by the National Commission for Safai Karamcharis (NCSK). Full compensation had been paid in 551 cases and part compensation in 23 cases.
No deaths were listed for Jammu and Kashmir or Ladakh in the State/UT-wise data provided by the NCSK for the period.
Among the States and Union Territories reporting deaths, Uttar Pradesh recorded the highest number at 88, followed by Maharashtra with 87, Tamil Nadu with 77, Haryana with 78, Gujarat with 75 and Delhi with 65.
The Ministry said 842 complaints relating to non-payment of wages, denial of safety equipment and caste-based discrimination were received from States and Union Territories during 2025. Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh were not listed among the areas reporting complaints in the State/UT-wise data.
Uttar Pradesh accounted for 130 complaints, the second-highest State/UT figure after Delhi’s 140, while Maharashtra recorded 95.
The Ministry clarified that sanitation is a State subject under the Seventh Schedule of the Constitution and that data on action taken against contractors or civic bodies for violating standard operating procedures or guidelines on mechanisation is not maintained centrally.
