Report on The Working and Living Conditions of The Scheduled Castes Workers in The Selected Occupations At Ghaziabad (1995)

Abstract

Members of the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes communities belong to the most deprived sections of our society and constitute nearly one fourth of the total population of the country. Dearth of reliable data on the working and living conditions of the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes labour hampered the process of formulating the appropriate welfare schemes in order to bring the fruits of economic and social development to these weakest sections of the society. The need for reliable data on socio-economic conditions of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes labour had, therefore, been emphasised from time to time by the various government agencies engaged in the formulation of effective measures for ameliorating the conditions of such workers. As a result of this, the Inter-Departmental Direction Committee was set up by the Ministry of Labour to guide, examine and approve all the technical details of the studies mooted in this direction. It was, decided to conduct the studies on the working and living conditions of such workers in the urban areas. The Committee suggested that, in the first instance, the study relating to Scheduled Castes workers covering only four unclean occupations, viz. Bonecrushing, Flaying & Tanning, Shoe-making and Sweeping and Scavenging, in which majority of the workers belonging to the Scheduled Castes are employed, should be conducted.