No photos as part of Swachh Bharat: Govt in Rajya Sabha

  • | Thursday | 20th July, 2017

Jaipur: Husan Dalwai, Rajya Sabha MP for Maharashtra, raised the matter of functionaries taking photographs of people defecating in the open as part of enforcing the Swachh Bharat Mission. To the question on what will be done if officials are found manhandling people, the minister responded that sanitation is a state subject - thus evading a response even though Swachh Bharat is a central scheme. He also claims the investigation is still going on and arrests will occur until the probe is over.The government's response does not take cognizance of this loss of life in the course of the implementation of Swachh Bharat Abhiyan. Pratapgarh SP Shivraj Meena has maintained that the post-mortem report showed Husain died of cardio-respiratory failure. None of the accused, however, has yet been arrested.

Jaipur: Husan Dalwai, Rajya Sabha MP for Maharashtra, raised the matter of functionaries taking photographs of people defecating in the open as part of enforcing the Swachh Bharat Mission. The MP asked the Union minister for drinking water and sanitation whether any complaints of such photographs were ever received, and if action had been taken against anyone found manhandling people as part of Swachh Bharat.In a response tabled in the Rajya Sabha, the government responded that taking photographs is not part of the mission, and no action has been taken against anyone for this. It may be pertinent to mention here that 55-year-old Zafar Husain, an activist with the CPI-ML, had objected to functionaries out clicking photographs of women defecating in the open in the slum he lived in at Pratapgarh on June 16. He was allegedly thrashed so severely for preventing municipal employees from humiliating the poor women that he died of his injuries.Police booked a case against commissioner Ashok Jain, and employees of the municipal corporation Kamal Harijan, Ritesh Harijan and Manish Harijan under Section 302 (murder) of the IPC. None of the accused, however, has yet been arrested. Pratapgarh SP Shivraj Meena has maintained that the post-mortem report showed Husain died of cardio-respiratory failure. He also claims the investigation is still going on and arrests will occur until the probe is over.The government's response does not take cognizance of this loss of life in the course of the implementation of Swachh Bharat Abhiyan. To the question on what will be done if officials are found manhandling people, the minister responded that sanitation is a state subject - thus evading a response even though Swachh Bharat is a central scheme.

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