New Delhi: The social inclusion of informal workers is crucial for sustainable plastic waste management, said Amitabh Kant, CEO, NITI Aayog, while launching the baseline analysis of the socio-economic situation of ‘Safai Sathis’ or waste pickers by United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) India on Tuesday.
“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,” said Kant.
The baseline analysis of the socio-economic situation of ‘Safai Sathis’ is one of the first large-scale assessments conducted by UNDP in India, covering 9,300 Safai Sathis in 14 cities.
Launching the analysis, the Niti Ayog CEO underlined that it will help address the vulnerabilities of waste pickers.
“NITI Aayog is happy to support the UNDP and nodal ministries such as the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs and Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment (MoSJE) in the process of enhancing the resilience of the waste pickers in the country,” he said.
The analysis 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.
It had an equal representation of male and female Safai Sathis. Some key findings of analysis include that out of 10 Safai Sathis, 6 are having bank accounts. Similarly, 21 per cent of the Safai Sathis reported access to Jan Dhan Yojana, with an even lower proportion indicating access and use of digital payment methods.
The findings also included that except for Aadhar and voter cards, all other forms of identification were found to be severely lacking across the community.
The health insurance among Safai Sathis have been found below 5 per cent. Temporary sheds and rented housing were reported as the most common forms of accommodation.
Meanwhile, access and use of sanitation facilities have been reported only by 60 per cent of Safai Sathis. Wood-based fuels for cooking were recorded at par with cleaner alternatives.
The analysis also identified certain key areas for improvement to promote social empowerment of the Safai Sathis.
The four broad policy recommendations included the formulation of a welfare framework for Safai Sathis, formalising the economic contributions of this community, initiating skilling programmes and exploring alternate livelihood opportunities, and increasing the uptake of social safety nets among the Safai Sathis.
The virtual program was joined by Yogita Swaroop, Senior Economic Advisor, MoSJE, Shingo Miyamoto, Minister – Economic & Development, Embassy of Japan; Shoko Noda Resident Representative, UNDP India and others
“Japan is delighted to support initiatives that empower informal workers to obtain adequate social support, as well as reduce, reuse, and recycle plastic waste. Our support to project Utthaan reflects this commitment,” said Shingo Miyamoto, Minister – Economic & Development, Embassy of Japan.
(IANS)
