The Bihar cabinet, chaired by Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, on Tuesday approved the formation of the Bihar State Safai Karmachari Commission to drive socio-economic upliftment for sanitation workers, a move seen as strategic with assembly elections looming later this year. The decision, proposed by the Urban Development and Housing Department, aims to ensure welfare, rehabilitation, and grievance redressal for this marginalized group.

“The commission will protect the rights and interests of sanitation workers, integrate them into mainstream society, and monitor welfare schemes for their social and economic development,” said an official. The body will comprise a chairperson, a vice-chairperson, and five members, including at least one woman or transgender person, to address issues like manual scavenging and caste-based discrimination prevalent among the state’s estimated 1.5 lakh sanitation workers, 80% of whom belong to Scheduled Castes like Ravidas, Dom, and Mehtar communities.

Kumar, who announced the commission’s creation on July 27 via X, stated it would provide recommendations to safeguard workers’ rights and enhance schemes like health insurance, housing under PMAY, and skill training. The move follows years of advocacy by groups like the Safai Karamchari Andolan, which highlighted 1,760 manual scavenging deaths nationwide between 2013 and 2023, with Bihar reporting over 200 cases. Recent initiatives include distributing 4,000 high-pressure cleaning machines and forming self-help groups for workers’ families.

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The cabinet also amended the Bihar Patrakar Samman Pension Yojana 2019, raising pensions for registered retired journalists from ₹6,000 to ₹15,000 monthly, fulfilling Kumar’s July 22 promise. With 2,500 journalists set to benefit, the decision underscores the government’s focus on key voter groups. Critics, including RJD’s Tejashwi Yadav, called the moves “election gimmicks,” noting delays in implementing a 2017 sanitation worker survey. As Bihar gears up for polls, the commission’s success will hinge on addressing systemic challenges and delivering tangible change.

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