After NHRC's notice, Delhi govt. pays compensation to families of two labourers

In response to the NHRC's intervention, the Delhi Government has informed that it has paid Rs.2 lakh each to the next of kins of Shankar, aged 40 years and Manoj, aged 19 years, who died while cleaning a sewer in Rohini at the instance of a private contractor.

The incident was reported by a newspaper on the June 22, 2012 and the Commission had taken the suo motu cognizance of the same and issued notices to the Delhi Government's Chief Secretary and DDA Chairman calling for reports.

Earlier, the Commission did not accept the contention of the DDA that the labourers were engaged by a private contractor and therefore the liability to pay compensation did not rest with it. The Commission had observed that the plea was devoid of merit. The DDA failed in its duty of supervision and could not escape the liability.

During the course of enquiry, the Commission also found that the families of the two deceased were earlier paid Rs.1.5 lakh each by the private hotel owner who had made an unauthorized sewer connection for a toilet. When the sewer got blocked, he engaged these two labourers to clean it without following any precautionary measures. One of the labourers had never done the job of cleaning the sewer. Both the labourers succumbed to poisonous gas inside the sewer while removing the blockage.