Mumbai civic body to replace, maintain old toilets for free

Say goodbye to dirty, rickety or over-charged public toilets. The civic body on Saturday declared that it will be replacing poorly maintained pay-and-use public toilets in the city with improved toilets, which will be free for the public.

As per municipal commissioner Ajoy Mehta’s orders, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) is inspecting the pay-and-use public toilets for three reasons: cleanliness, charges and misuse of space. If violations are found, BMC will send notices and take back the toilets from the NGOs or adoptees that had been maintaining them.

Data from BMC revealed that of its 892 pay-and-use toilet blocks, 44 have been taken back. Deputy municipal commissioner, Vishwas Shankarwar, said, “We will replace the old and dilapidated ones with newly built free-of-charge toilets with improved designs. A policy is being framed for their maintenance and will be ready in a week.”

Civic officials added that no action shall be taken against adoptees who have not violated any of these norms or make improvements after receiving notice. “Toilets found in good condition will continue to be maintained by the NGOs and thus will not be free of charge,” said an official.

The civic body had decided to design the new toilets as per the requirement, space constraints and the area features. It is also looking at various revenue models like advertising and involving corporate houses under corporate social responsibility (CSR) for maintenance purposes.

Meanwhile, in his monthly review meeting on Saturday, Mehta also directed that all bulk-waste generating establishments--both commercial and residential--be prosecuted and fined immediately for not segregating and composting waste on their own. The BMC’s legal department has decided to expedite legal proceedings against these establishments.

Since January 2, BMC has been taking action against bulk-waste generators for not complying to solid waste management norms. The bulk generators include societies and commercial establishments that generate more than 100 kilograms of waste daily or are spread on area more than 20, 000 square meters.

All prosecution cases against non-complying bulk-waste generators will be taken up by the metropolitan courts on a particular day of the week. According to Shankarwar, since January, 949 such establishments have been prosecuted under Mumbai Municipal Corporation (MMC) Act 368, Maharashtra Regional Town Planning Act as well as Environment (Protection) Act, 1986.

Of 3,300 bulk-waste generators in Mumbai, 3,224 establishments have been issued notices for not complying to waste management norms. While 877 complied after receiving notices, others have been given more time, added Shankarwar.

On Friday, on the directions of a metropolitan court, BMC imposed a penalty of Rs15,000 on seven housing societies in Chembur after issuing notices to 32.