Madras High Court has said that the government cannot absolve itself of its responsibility on compensating scavengers who die of asphyxiation while cleaning septic tanks and manholes in privately-owned buildings. A bench comprising Chief Justice SK Kaul and Justice Pushpa Sathyanarayana, gave the ruling on a PIL filed by an NGO Change India.<br/><br/> It further added that government should pay compensation to the victims and recover the same from private employers. When the matter came up for hearing yesterday, Additional Advocate-General told the bench that there were 16 deaths in works engaged by private owners in the state, but no compensation was paid.