2Definitions

(1) In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires,—

(a) "agency" means any agency, other than a local authority, which mayundertake sanitation facilities in an area and includes a contractor or a firm or a companywhich engages in development and maintenance of real estate;

(b) "appropriate government", in relation to Cantonment Boards, railway lands,and lands and buildings owned by the Central Government, a Central Public SectorUndertaking or an autonomous body wholly or substantially funded by the CentralGovernment, means the Central Government and in all other cases, the StateGovernment;

(c) "Chief Executive Officer", in relation to a Municipality or Panchayat, means,its senior-most executive officer, by whatever name called;

(d) "hazardous cleaning" by an employee, in relation to a sewer or septic tank,means its manual cleaning by such employee without the employer fulfilling hisobligations to provide protective gear and other cleaning devices and ensuringobservance of safety precautions, as may be prescribed or provided in any other law,for the time being in force or rules made thereunder;

(e) "insanitary latrine" means a latrine which requires human excreta to be cleanedor otherwise handled manually, either in situ, or in an open drain or pit into which theexcreta is discharged or flushed out, before the excreta fully decomposes in suchmanner as may be prescribed:

Provided that a water flush latrine in a railway passenger coach, when cleanedby an employee with the help of such devices and using such protective gear, as theCentral Government may notify in this behalf, shall not be deemed to be an insanitary latrine.

(f) "local authority" means,—

(i) a Municipality or a Panchayat, as defined in clause (e) and clause (f) ofarticle 243P of the Constitution, which is responsible for sanitation in its area ofjurisdiction;

(ii) a Cantonment Board constituted under section 10 of the CantonmentsAct, 2006 (41 of 2006); and

(iii) a railway authority;

(g) "manual scavenger" means a person engaged or employed, at thecommencement of this Act or at any time thereafter, by an individual or a local authorityor an agency or a contractor, for manually cleaning, carrying, disposing of, or otherwisehandling in any manner, human excreta in an insanitary latrine or in an open drain or pitinto which the human excreta from the insanitary latrines is disposed of, or on arailway track or in such other spaces or premises, as the Central Government or a StateGovernment may notify, before the excreta fully decomposes in such manner as may beprescribed, and the expression manual scavenging shall be construed accordingly.

Explanation.—For the purpose of this clause,—

(a) "engaged or employed" means being engaged or employed on a regularor contract basis;

(b) a person engaged or employed to clean excreta with the help of suchdevices and using such protective gear, as the Central Government may notifyin this behalf, shall not be deemed to be a 'manual scavenger';

(h) "National Commission for Safai Karmacharis" means the National Commissionfor Safai Karamcharis constituted under section 3 of the National Commission for SafaiKarmacharis Act, 1993(64 of 1993) and continued by Resolution of the Government of India in theMinistry of Social Justice and Empowerment vide No.17015/18/2003-SCD-VI, dated24th February, 2004 and as amended from time to time;

(i) “notification” means a notification published in the Official Gazette and theexpression “notify” shall be construed accordingly;

(j) “occupier”, in relation to the premises where an insanitary latrine exists, orsomeone is employed as a manual scavenger, means the person who, for the timebeing, is in occupation of such premises;

(k) “owner”, in relation to the premises where an insanitary latrine exists orsomeone is employed as a manual scavenger, means, the person who, for the timebeing has legal title to such premises;

(l) “prescribed” means prescribed by the rules made under this Act;

(m) “railway authority” means an authority administering railway land, as maybe notified by the Central Government in this behalf;

(n) “railway land” shall have the meaning assigned to it in clause (32A) ofsection 2 of the Railways Act, 1989 (24 of 1989);

(o) “sanitary latrine” means a latrine which is not an „insanitary latrine‟;

(p) “septic tank” means a water-tight settling tank or chamber, normally locatedunderground, which is used to receive and hold human excreta, allowing it to decomposethrough bacterial activity;

(q) “sewer” means an underground conduit or pipe for carrying off human excreta,besides other waste matter and drainage wastes;

(r) “State Government”, in relation to a Union territory, means the Administratorthereof appointed under article 239 of the Constitution;

(s) “survey” means a survey of manual scavengers undertaken in pursuance ofsection 11 or section 14.

(2) Words and expressions used and not defined in this Act, but defined in theCantonments Act, 2006 (41 of 2006), shall have the same meanings respectively assigned to them in thatAct.

(3) The reference to a Municipality under Chapters IV to VIII of this Act shall includea reference to, as the case may be, the Cantonment Board or the railway authority, in respectof areas included within the jurisdiction of the Cantonment Board and the railway land,respectively.