Chennai, May 22 (IANS): Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin on Monday expressed concern over the deaths due to manual scavenging in the state.

The chief minister was speaking at a review meeting organised by the Municipality Administration and Water Supply department to prevent deaths due to manual scavenging at the secretariat.

Stalin said that the officials were not paying enough attention to this area and pointed out that the state government had a responsibility to prevent deaths due to manual scavenging which was a black mark to the society.

The Chief Minister said that as per the information he had, most of the deaths due to manual scavenging had taken place in urban areas. He warned of stringent action against those officials who had not taken enough precautionary measures to prevent manual scavenging.

Stalin referred to measures taken by the Greater Chennai Corporation to empower persons engaged in cleaning septic tanks with modern equipment and make them entrepreneurs under the Ambedkar Business Champions scheme.

He said that an amount of Rs 100 crore was allocated in the budget of 2023-24 for this scheme, and called upon the concerned authorities to implement the plan within four months.

He also pointed out that an agreement was signed between the Chennai Metropolitan Water Supply and Sewage Board (CMWSSB) and the Dalit Chamber of Commerce to train cleanliness workers to become entrepreneurs.

Minister for Municipal Administration K.N. Nehru, Chief Secretary Irai Anbu, Greater Chennai Corporation Commissioner, J. Radhakrishnan were present during the meeting.