NCSK chief asks DJB to give Rs 10L compensation for sanitation workers' death

National Commission for Safai Karamcharis (NCSK) chairman Manhar Valjibhai Zala today visited the site where three men had died allegedly after inhaling toxic fumes while cleaning a sewer pipe in southeast Delhi's Lajpat Nagar.
The NCSK chief directed the Delhi Jal Board to give a compensation of Rs 10 lakh to the family members of each of the three victims within 24 hours as per the orders of the Supreme Court.
The commission called senior officers of the Delhi Police, Delhi Jal Board and South Delhi Municipal Corporation, and the District Magistrate of South East Delhi to the spot to enquire about the incident, an official statement said.

A senior police officer said that an FIR had been registered under various sections of the IPC. Zala directed the Delhi Police to invoke relevant provisions of the Prohibition of Employment as Manual Scavengers and their Rehabilitation Act, 2013 in the case.
He said that by invoking the legislation, family members of the victims would be entitled to seek compensation admissible in such cases.
The NCSK chief further directed the Delhi Police to arrest the contractor, who, according to the police, was on the run, at the earliest and take appropriate action against him.

He also directed the Delhi police to take action against Delhi Jal Board officials, if found guilty, in the matter.

According to the statement, the DJB chief engineer told Zala that the board had not awarded any work order/contract for carrying out any work in the sewer.
The DJB has ordered a probe to find out how these men entered the sewer without authorisation.
The three men -- Joginder (32), Annu (28) and Mohan (25) -- died after inhaling toxic fumes inside the sewer pipe yesterday.