New Delhi: Six out of 10 rag pickers, also called Safai Sathis, in India have a bank account, said a baseline analysis of the socio-economic situation of waste collectors launched by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in New Delhi on Tuesday. ETV Bharat brings an insight into how various reflect upon the lives and occupations of the waste pickers in India.
The report further said that 21 per cent of the rag pickers reported access to Jan DhanYojana, with an even lower proportion indicating access and use of digital payment methods. “Except for Aadhar and voter ID cards – ownership of which was reported by more than 90 per cent and 60 per cent Safai Sathis, respectively– all other forms of identification such as birth, income, caste, and occupation certificates were found to be severely lacking across the community,” the report said.
It further said that 50 per cent of the Safai Sathi reported owning and using a ration card. However, health insurance coverage among Safai Sathis was below 5 per cent. “Temporary sheds and rented housing were reported as the most common forms of accommodation. More than 90 per cent of Safai Sathis reported having a continuous drinking water supply, while 80 per cent had an electricity supply. Access and use of sanitation facilities were reported only by 60 per cent of Safai Sathis. Wood-based fuels for cooking were recorded at par with cleaner alternatives,” the UNDP said in its report.
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The analysis is one of the first large-scale assessments conducted in India, covering 9,300 Safai Sathis in 14 cities, and was released by Amitabh Kant, CEO, NITI Aayog. “Safai Sathis or waste pickers are the invisible environmentalists, and play a significant role in waste recycling in India. The social inclusion of informal workers is crucial for sustainable plastic waste management. I am hopeful that the findings from this baseline analysis will help address the vulnerabilities of waste pickers. NITI Aayog is happy to support UNDP and nodal ministries such as the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs and MoSJE in the process of enhancing the resilience of the waste pickers in the country,” said Kant.
The baseline was undertaken as part of Project ‘Utthaan – Rise with Resilience’ under UNDP’s Plastic Waste Management Programme. Utthaan is UNDP India’s COVID-19 response enabling Safai Sathis to access government schemes and build more resilient communities.
The baseline had an equal representation of male and female Safai Sathis and found that the work undertaken by them is highly informal, which restricts income and job mobility. In 2021, UNDP also launched the first-ever Social Protection Facilitation Centre in Goa with the support of the Embassy of Japan to boost access to social protection for Safai Sathis. The Centre acts as a crucial bridge between the government departments operating social protection schemes and Safai Sathis.
