Madras HC directs 8% interest to be paid with compensation for Manual Scavenging victims

The Madras High Court recently disposed of a petition filed against state delays in compensating victims of manual scavenging. In its order, the Court directed the state to pay an interest of of 8% per annum, from October 2014 till the actual payment of compensation, to identified manual scavengers..The Bench of Chief Justice Indira Banerjee and Justice Abdul Quddhose issued the direction while disposing of a petition filed by NGO ChangeIndia last year..The petition drew attention to various issues concerning the delay in payment of compensation and rehabilitation of manual scavengers and their families..Following the Supreme Court verdict in Safai Karamchari Andolan & Ors v Union of India, the government is obligated to pay a compensation of Rs 10 lakh to families of persons who have died doing manual scavenging since 1993..Despite this direction, the petitioner pointed out that in several cases, partial amounts were paid at different points of time, thereby depriving the beneficiaries of wholesome compensation..Further, during the hearing, it was also submitted that there were certain discrepancies in the affidavits filed by the state concerning the beneficiaries claimed to have been identified..The main relief sought by the petitioner was the payment of 9% interest along with due compensation to all beneficiaries i.e. families of identified manual scavengers. The prayer was made in light of similar directions issued by the Madurai Bench of the Court in 2016, in a plea made by the widow of a manual scavenger..The Court however declined to entertain this prayer, given that the 2003 Supreme Court judgment did not provide for such payment of interest..However, the Court did reiterate that the state is duty-bound to compensate manual scavengers, whether they were engaged by the state or private persons..“The State is under a bounden duty to prohibit manual scavenging and it cannot avoid its liability to compensate manual scavengers who lose their lives in course of manual scavenging, by reason of the inability of the State to stop manual scavenging.”.While the state was expected to identify manual scavengers within a reasonable period of six months, the Court noted there was some delay. Ultimately, the Court saw it fit to dispose of the petition with the following direction:.“We dispose of the writ petition by directing the State to pay interest to the identified heirs of manual scavengers who lost their lives in course of manual scavenging and/or sewerage work at the rate of 8% per annum, being the rate of interest paid by nationalised banks to senior citizens, from 01.10.2014 till the date of payment of compensation of Rs.10 lakhs to the concerned heirs. Needless to mention that interest shall be computed as per reducing balance in cases where compensation has been released in tranches.”.Read Order: