Page 64 - Clean India Journal - August 2023 Digital Edition

Sanitation

‘Write what you will do, and do

what you write’

At the alarming rate at which India is urbanising, public toilets are unable to
keep pace with the change. Both their numbers and maintenance leave much
to be desired. Urban local bodies may appoint agencies to maintain these,
but loopholes in the contracts and a lack of effective monitoring leave many

toilets unusable by intended clientele.
With years of experience in public sanitation, Shriram Ghate paints a picture

of the way forward

Density population growth, migration and How is this to be assessed? Has the
At various levels like gram other factors, the upkeep of toilets agency committed to meeting these
is not up to the mark.
requirements? Is it actually doing
panchayat, taluka and district, the so? Each person’s assessment of
number and distribution of public For improving and maintaining this will be different.
toilets was decided based on then- public toilets/ restrooms, funds
available population data, or the from other bodies like charitable ‘Write down what you want to do,
demands raised by the local elected institutions, CSR funds, voluntary and do what you have written’ should
bodies. Considering the rapid pace donors, funds from elected be the maxim of agencies appointed
of urbanisation – whether vertical government representatives etc. for public toilet maintenance.
or horizontal – within city limits, should be used. A better solution may
future, or even existing numbers be the gradation of public toilets and Better tendering
of toilets need immediate attention periodic revision of the same. For the maintenance of public
and revision. toilets, tenders are floated, and
Public toilets are placed inside Precise tenders the contract is always awarded
buildings (private/ public) at any Every tender needs to include to L1. But how much can the L1
accessible area, mainly in hutments an SOP for toilet maintenance; I vendor achieve? They will have to
and on the road where traffic flow have seen many tenders without compromise on both workers and
is noticeable. As per norms, there one. There are no clear definitions the quality of materials used.
should also be public toilets at toll of what ‘cleaning’ constitutes; We cannot compare apples
plazas, refreshment centres and so on. only ‘cleaning services are to be with oranges. The public toilet
In the current scenario, and provided’ is mentioned. Vague at a busy railway station cannot
considering rapid road connectivity, terms are used, like ‘the toilet has be compared to an airport toilet.
public toilets should be proper to be cleaned properly’. To what Planning and budgeting for both
restrooms that are built at regular extent? What material is to be used? need to be different.
intervals, varying from 3 km to 10
km, depending upon vehicular flow.
We must keep in mind that such
toilets should have added facilities
for the aged, differently abled,
women and children.

Funds
As per the planning of respective
bodies, toilets are to be built and
maintained according to the data
available. However, due to rapid

AUGUST 2023•Clean India Journal
64 www.cleanindiajournal.com