Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): Bhopal Municipal Corporation (BMC) is struggling to identify land for constructing public toilets and urinals across the state capital, despite receiving funding under the Central government’s AMRUT 2.0 scheme.
According to BMC, engineers from the mechanical department have been surveying locations for over a week, but land ownership disputes and local objections continue to stall progress.
Around 150 public toilets and urinals are proposed to be built across all 85 wards of the city. However, wherever a site is identified, objections are raised over land ownership, resulting in repeated cancellations. So far, nearly 30 proposed toilet projects have been dropped due to such disputes.
Surprisingly, during the 2024–25 financial year, BMC had identified eight locations for public toilets, including prominent areas such as MP Nagar Zone-1.
Construction work was initiated at four of these sites, and the outer structures were completed. However, even after a year, none of these toilets have been made operational.
Tenders issued, but construction stalled
Of the 150 proposed units, tenders have been issued for 106 toilets, each costing approximately Rs 4 lakh under the AMRUT 2.0 project. According to Swachh Bharat Mission (SBM) officials, each toilet requires a space of 8×20 feet (160 sq ft) and is being planned in areas with high public demand. Despite this, only 50 locations have been finalised so far. Mechanical department officials say that objections usually arise once construction begins, forcing work to stop midway.
Disputes reaching courts
Land-related disputes over toilet construction have begun reaching the courts. In cases where the corporation does not resolve objections at the local level, residents are filing legal petitions.
At least four cases have already reached the courts. To minimise resistance, officials have adopted a strategy of first digging pits and proceeding with construction only if no objections are raised.
