Union Minister for Social Justice and Empowerment, Dr. Virendra Kumar, today distributed Sanitation Kits and Ayushman Health Cards to sewer and septic tank workers under the Central Government’s National Action for Mechanised Sanitation Ecosystem (NAMASTE) Scheme, in Mumbai.

In addition, sanction letters for subsidised low-rate loans for the purchase of mechanised cleaning vehicles under the Swachhta Udyami Yojana (SUY) were also distributed to some of the beneficiaries. Speaking on the occasion, Union Minister Dr. Virendra Kumar informed that the NAMASTE Scheme, which is jointly implemented by the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment (MoSJE) and the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA), has the objective of ensuring dignity and safety for sanitation workers and empowering them socially and economically.

He also informed that waste pickers are included as beneficiaries in the scheme. Dr. Kumar said that the scheme aims to bring the death rate down to zero by providing training to the sanitation workers, or ‘swachhata senani,’ of the country.