Rs 1-Crore Robots To Replace Humans: Maharashtra's Big Push To End Manual Scavenging

Last Updated:October 20, 2025, 14:07 IST

The machines will be vehicle-mounted and distributed across 29 municipal corporations in the first phase

A Municipal Corporation worker enters a manhole for sewage cleaning. (PTI file photo)

In a major move to eliminate manual scavenging, the Maharashtra government will procure 100 robotic sewer-cleaning machines, each costing Rs 1 crore, under a Rs 100 crore initiative. The high-tech vehicles are aimed at replacing human involvement in hazardous sewer cleaning, a practice the state is now determined to end.

According to a report by The Times Of India, the machines will be vehicle-mounted and distributed across 29 municipal corporations in the first phase. One machine will be allocated to each corporation, with the aim of scaling up over time.

Sanitation workers currently involved in manual sewer cleaning will be trained and given priority to operate these machines, as part of a rehabilitation effort.

The plan falls under the newly approved state scheme, ‘From Manhole to Machine Hole’, which will be implemented by the social justice and special assistance department. The scheme aligns with the Prohibition of Employment as Manual Scavengers and their Rehabilitation Act, 2013, which prohibits manual scavenging and promotes the use of technology for cleaning sewers and septic tanks.

The responsibility for procuring the machines was initially with the urban development department, led by Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde. However, after delays, the task has been handed over to the social justice department, headed by Shiv Sena minister Sanjay Shirsat.

Procurement will be carried out through the Mahatma Phule Backward Classes Development Corporation. A state-level committee headed by department principal secretary Harshadeep Kamble will finalise the technical specifications and eligibility criteria. Purchases will be approved by both the committee and the corporation’s managing director.

Local municipal bodies will be responsible for operating and maintaining the machines over the next five years, with expenses covered from their own budgets.

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