About Waste Picker Enumeration App:
- It is an online system to count, recognize, and assist waste collectors via social security and livelihood-focused initiatives within the NAMASTE Scheme.
- It is an initiative of the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment (MoSJE) in partnership with the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA).
- It is executed through the National Safai Karamcharis Finance & Development Corporation (NSKFDC).
- Aim:
- To acknowledge waste pickers as crucial workers in India’s solid waste management framework.
- To grant them identity, safety, and integration into official urban frameworks.
- Features:
- Large-Scale Profiling: Aims to enumerate 250,000 waste pickers and issue occupational identity cards to provide formal recognition.
- Health and Safety Coverage: Offers health insurance through Ayushman Bharat and supplies personal protective equipment and seasonal safety kits.
- Skill and Livelihood Assistance: Provides training for skill development and financial support for waste collection vehicles to encourage sustainable livelihoods.
- Enhancing Waste Management Systems: Facilitates the establishment of waste picker groups to handle 750 dry waste collection points throughout city regions.
- Knowledge-Driven Empowerment: Publishes essential materials such as the Guide for Mainstreaming Waste Picker Collectives and the Charting Change report on socio-economic insights.
Key Facts about NAMASTE Scheme:
- It is an ongoing Central Sector Scheme jointly implemented by MoSJE and the MoHUA with NSKFDC being the implementation agency for sewer and septic tank workers (SSWs).
- The scheme expanded its mandate in June 2024 to include Waste Pickers.
- Objective:
- To guarantee dignity, safety, and livelihood for sewer workers, septic tank cleaners, and currently, waste pickers.
- To eradicate manual scavenging and encourage mechanized, proficient sanitation services.
- Coverage: Five hundred cities (converging with AMRUT cities) will be taken up under this phase of NAMASTE.
- It will be implemented for the period 2022-26.
