India, June 15 -- The National Commission for Scheduled Castes (NCSC) has issued a notice to the Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporation (PCMC) over allegations that sanitation workers engaged in pre-monsoon drain-cleaning operations are being deployed without adequate safety equipment, raising concerns of possible violations of laws prohibiting manual scavenging.

The notice, issued on June 12 by Dr G. Sunil Kumar Babu, director of the NCSC, directs PCMC commissioner Dr Vijay Suryawanshi to submit a detailed report on the allegations and action taken by the civic body within 15 days.

The NCSC acted on a complaint filed by advocate Sagar Charan, a former member of the District Vigilance Committee, who alleged that sanitation workers invol...