Citizens will be charged ₹2 for using the public toilet facilities run by the Municipal Corporation of Gurugram at 119 locations, officials said on Thursday.
Until now, the public toilets facility was free of cost. MCG officials, however, said that using the urinal facility will remain free of cost.
The development comes after mayor Madhu Azad, during repeated inspections last week, found many toilets locked. Officials want to ensure that the public toilet facilities are up and running as the Swacch Survekshan 2020 survey is also expected to start later this month.
According to MCG officials, the move has been initiated at ensuring that the operating costs are recuperated and more money can be spent on improving the existing infrastructure. A work order has been issued for introducing the charges at the MCG’s facilities.
“Maintaining toilets is not that straightforward. There are several expenditures undertaken, such as electricity, water supply, sanitary pad vending machines, staff for security, payment collection and cleanliness, to ensure their running. In addition, introducing fares will also ensure that its running costs are recovered and additional funds can be spent on improving the existing infrastructure or opening more public toilets,” said Inderjit Kulharia, joint commissioner, MCG.
The MCG has four contractors maintaining public toilets in each of its respective zones. According to officials, a monthly maintenance cost of ₹15,000-₹25,000 is spent by the MCG for a single facility.
Kulharia said that based on the collection report, the MCG can make a call in the future on whether the charges should be increased further.
“₹2 is very affordable and wouldn’t deter anyone from availing of the facility. The only deterrent is having loose change available, which could pose a challenge not just for the user but also for the cash collector,” said Ganesh Sathianathan, a resident of DLF Phase 3.
The condition of public toilets has been regularly under the scanner over the last five years. In July 2018, MCG officials found that 60 of 99 public toilets in the city did not have continuous water supply, due to which these facilities were of little use to the public.
Even though water pipelines and overhead tankers had been installed for each facility, the absence of power connection meant that tankers could not be filled with water, due to which they were dependent on water tankers for continuous water supply.
In May 2018, the then MCG commissioner, Yashpal Yadav, had also found public toilets to be locked at many spots during a surprise inspection, leading to many contractors being penalised.
In the 2015 Swach Survekshan survey, the only time residents could specifically give feedback on toilets, 91% of the respondents were dissatisfied with the availability of basic infrastructure at public toilets. In the same survey, only 11% felt that the toilets were always clean while only 13% of residents said that they had access to public toilets within a 500-metre radius.
Cleanliness survey soon
Officials want to ensure that the public toilet facilities are up and running as the Swacch Survekshan 2020 survey is also expected to start later this month
The condition of public toilets has been regularly under the scanner over the last five years. In July 2018, MCG officials found that 60 of 99 public toilets in the city did not have continuous water supply, due to which these facilities were of little use to the public
Even though water pipelines and overhead tankers had been installed for each facility, the absence of power connection meant that tankers could not be filled with water, due to which they were dependent on water tankers for continuous water supply
In May 2018, the then MCG commissioner, Yashpal Yadav, had also found public toilets to be locked at many spots during a surprise inspection, leading to many contractors being penalised
