Pay-and-use system leading to overcharging, harassment by contractors

The civic body will be shouldering the responsibility, and expenditure, of running public toilets in the city, with the civic budget providing for the scrapping of the pay-and-use system. Civic officials said the decision was taken after the BMC received complaints of entry being restricted at public toilets, and overcharging by operators.

Announcing this in his budget speech, Municipal Commissioner Ajoy Mehta said, “The pay-and-use model became a business model, but toilets aren’t a business, but a necessity. So, we are moving away from the model and looking at toilets as an essential service. We will be spending Rs. 10 crore on repairs and maintenance of the existing public toilets.”

As of now, the city has close to 12,000 public toilets, most of them built more than 10 years ago. A majority of them are being operated under the pay-and-use system. “We noticed that many pay-and-use toilets were in poor condition. Under the new policy, all new toilets will be built by the BMC, and a contractor will be appointed to run the them,” Additional Municipal Commissioner Vijay Singhal said.

For existing toilets, he said a plan will be drawn up after the checking the status of contracts given to pay-and-use operators. Other factors will also be considered, including the toilet’s condition, terms and conditions of the contract and its tenure.

The BMC plans to generate revenue by providing space for illuminated advertisements on toilet blocks. The new system will ensure the contractors are monitored.

Deepa Pawar, an activist associated with the Right-To-Pee campaign, said it was a good start but implementation will be key. “Access to toilets should be free. We feel essential services should be directly under the government and not given over to contractors. They should also encourage community-based toilets and support them.”

The budget has also provided for Rs. 500 crore for the construction of 20,000 toilets over the next three years. Many will be replacing existing structures, and will be multi-storeyed to accommodate more toilets. “This is probably the only good move by the BMC in this budget, which is otherwise an eyewash. They are getting funds from the Swacch Bharat Abhiyan, and it’s good they are building toilets instead of contracting them out,” said Congress corporator Ravi Raja, Leader of the Opposition in the BMC.

As per Swachh Bharat Abhiyan norms, the city must provide one toilet seat for every 30 citizens. In November last year, the BMC planned to construct 18,818 toilets in 2018, of which 3,044 will be new. The remaining will be built after demolishing 11,170 existing ones.

Essential services should be directly under the government and not given over to contractorsDeepa PawarActivist, Right-To-Pee campaign