Mumbai: As part of the Swachh Bharat Mission, the BMC is mulling upon setting up 30 public toilets across city's prominent places like Churchgate station, Mantralaya, Girgaon Chowpatty, Haji Ali junction, Mulund Check Naka, etc. Adding another layer of convenience, the civic body will also provide the community laundry facility at these toilets. The civic body had planned to construct around 22,500 public toilet seats under the Swachh Bharat Mission. It had even allocated Rs 300 crore for the project, but the work is yet not completed. According to civic officials, the city lacks around one lakh public toilets.
There are around 1,100 public toilets across the city, which are run by NGOs and local groups. While, these NGOs charge Rs 2-5 for toilet facilities and Rs 10 for a bath, they share revenue with the BMC.
“We have identified 30 locations to start such a facility, the proposal is at the initial stage and we are yet to calculate the cost of the project. These public toilets will have facilities such as bathing and washing clothes. We are working out if we can add any other parameters to these toilets,” said the civic official.
The BMC is also working on preparing a policy to allow advertisement boards in public toilets. Last year, the civic body constructed an 88-seater jumbo community toilet, spread across 4,000 sq ft, at Juhu Galli in Andheri west to for more than 60,000 residents living in the nearby slums.
A structural audit of public toilets that are over 30 years old was also conducted in 2018. The BMC had set a target to build 22,774 toilets in 2021; of which, 8,637 are new constructions. These toilets comprise urinals for kids, western toilets for senior citizens and amenities for physically challenged. Rainwater harvesting, dustbins for dry and wet wastes and sanitary pads, etc will be provided at these upcoming facilities.
