ORDER : Ms. Indira Banerjee, J. The writ petition, in public interest, has been filed seeking orders on the State to pay interest for delay in release of compensation, to the heirs of the identified manual scavengers, who had lost their lives in course of manual scavenging. 2. It appears that Writ Petition (Civil) No.583 of 2003 filed by Safai Karamchari Andolan and Others vs. Union of India and Others, which was heard along with Contempt Petition (C) No.132 of 2012 in W.P. (Civil) No.583 of 2003, was disposed of by the Hon'ble Supreme Court by a judgment and order dated 27.03.2014. The operative part of the said judgment and order is set out hereinbelow for convenience: “(14) We have already noted various provisions of the 2013 Act and also in the light of various orders of this Court, we issue the following directions:- (i) The persons included in the final list of manual scavengers under Sections 11 and 12 of the 2013 Act, shall be rehabilitated as per the provisions of Part IV of the 2013 Act, in the following manner, namely:- (a) such initial, one time, cash assistance, as may be prescribed; (b) their children shall be entitled to scholarship as per the relevant scheme of the Central Government or the State Government or the local authorities, as the case may be; (c) they shall be allotted a residential plot and financial assistance for house construction, or a ready-built house with financial assistance, subject to eligibility and willingness of the manual scavenger as per the provisions of the relevant scheme; (d) at least one member of their family, shall be given, subject to eligibility and willingness, training in livelihood skill and shall be paid a monthly stipend during such period; (e) at least one adult member of their family, shall be given, subject to eligibility and willingness, subsidy and concessional loan for taking up an alternative occupation on sustainable basis, as per the provisions of the relevant scheme; (f) shall be provided such other legal and programmatic assistance, as the Central Government or State Government may notify in this behalf. (ii) If the practice of manual scavenging has to be brought to a close and also to prevent future generations from the inhuman practice of manual scavenging, rehabilitation of manual scavengers will need to include:- (a) Sewer deaths entering sewer lines without safety gears should be made a crime even in emergency situations. For each such death, compensation of Rs. 10 lakhs should be given to the family of the deceased. (b) Railways should take time bound strategy to end manual scavenging on the tracks. (c) Persons released from manual scavenging should not have to cross hurdles to receive what is their legitimate due under the law. (d) Provide support for dignified livelihood to safai karamchari women in accordance with their choice of livelihood schemes. (iii) Identify the families of all persons who have died in sewerage work (manholes, septic tanks) since 1993 and award compensation of Rs.10 lakhs for each such death to the family members depending on them. (iv) Rehabilitation must be based on the principles of justice and transformation.” 3. The judgment and order has three limbs, (a) the practice of manual scavenging has been directed to be closed; (b) the persons included in the final list of manual scavengers under Sections 11 and 12 of the 2013 Act have been directed to be rehabilitated as per the provisions of Part IV of the 2013 Act; and (c) compensation of Rs.10 lakhs has been directed to be paid to the dependent family members of all persons, who had died in sewerage work (manholes, septic tanks) since 1993. 4. It appears that initially the respondents disputed the liability to pay compensation in cases of death of manual scavengers engaged by private persons and/or private entities for the work of manual scavenging. Ultimately, however, compensation was released even to the dependents of manual scavengers engaged by private persons and/or entities, who had died in course of sewerage work since 1993. 5. The judgment and order of the Supreme Court directed payment of lumpsum compensation of Rs.10 lakhs for each death to the family members depending on them. The compensation has been directed to be paid in case of deaths, which took place on and from the year 1993 onwards. In the judgment and order of the Supreme Court, there is no direction for payment of interest. The compensation, as observed above, is a lumpsum compensation. 6. The compensation has been directed to be paid in case of deaths, which took place on and from the year 1993 onwards. In the judgment and order of the Supreme Court, there is no direction for payment of interest. The compensation, as observed above, is a lumpsum compensation. 6. A reading of the judgment and order of the Supreme Court, as a whole, makes it amply clear that the Supreme Court was not concerned only with manual scavengers engaged by the State and/or State authorities, but manual scavengers engaged by private persons and/or entities, who had lost their lives in course of sewerage work. The directions for compensation as contained in paragraph 14 (ii) (a) and 14 (iii) have to be read in harmony with paragraph 14 (i), which relates to persons included in the final list of manual scavengers under Sections 11 and 12 of the 2013 Act. 7. Section 11 (4) of the 2013 Act contemplates provisional list of persons found to be working as manual scavengers within the jurisdiction of the municipality and fulfilling the eligibility conditions as might be prescribed. The list is not to be just of manual scavengers engaged by a municipality, but manual scavengers engaged within the jurisdiction of a municipality. 8. The State is under a bounden duty to prohibit manual scavenging and it cannot avoid its liability to compensate manual scavengers who lose their lives in course of manual scavenging, by reason of the inability of the State to stop manual scavenging. 9. It appears that the heirs of manual scavengers who have died in course of manual scavenging who have actually been identified have been paid compensation of Rs.10 lakhs, but in tranches. The dependents of some of the manual scavengers engaged by private persons and/or entities, who had died in course of manual scavenging, were initially paid Rs.1 lakh/Rs.3 lakhs, but later Rs.10 lakhs. In view of the judgment and order of the Supreme Court, which did not provide interest, we are unable to accede to the prayer of the petitioner for granting the concerned families interest from the date of death of the concerned manual scavengers. 10. We also need to keep in mind the fact that there were no claims for compensation and it is the respondent authorities, who had to identify the dependents of the victims and to pay compensation to them. 10. We also need to keep in mind the fact that there were no claims for compensation and it is the respondent authorities, who had to identify the dependents of the victims and to pay compensation to them. This necessarily had to take reasonable amount of time. In our view, six (6) months' time should have been reasonable time to identify the families and pay compensation. There has been delay. 11. We dispose of the writ petition by directing the State to pay interest to the identified heirs of manual scavengers who lost their lives in course of manual scavenging and/or sewerage work at the rate of 8% per annum, being the rate of interest paid by nationalised banks to senior citizens, from 01.10.2014 till the date of payment of compensation of Rs.10 lakhs to the concerned heirs. Needless to mention that interest shall be computed as per reducing balance in cases where compensation has been released in tranches. No costs.