Overview
- Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar announced a state-backed, time-bound programme to replace manual scavenging with machines and robots across Maharashtra.
- The Social Justice Department has released ₹100 crore to the Urban Development Department to initiate procurement of 414 suction-cum-jetting vehicles under a ₹500 crore plan.
- Compensation for kin of deceased scavengers was raised to ₹30 lakh and to ₹20 lakh for permanently disabled workers effective April 30, 2025.
- Pawar will seek a high-level meeting with Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis to finalize implementation details and secure housing provisions for sanitation workers.
- The mechanization drive follows official data recording 18 deaths clearing manholes and pipelines between 2021 and 2024 and 78 fatalities in septic tank cleaning from 1993 to 2022.