AHMEDABAD, India, June 9 (UPI) -- An Indian city announced residents will be paid each time they use public toilets in a bid to curb public urination and defecation.

The Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation, which has about 315 public toilets spread through the city, said officers posted at 67 toilets in areas fraught with public urination and defecation will hand out 1 rupee -- less than 1/5 of a single U.S. penny -- to each person who uses the toilets.


"Once successful, the project will be implemented in all the 300 public toilets in Ahmedabad," AMC health officer Bhavikk Joshi said.

Pravin Patel, AMC standing committee chairman, said repeat public urinators and defecators will be "identified and encouraged" to use the toilets.

"The idea behind this project is to prevent open defecation in parts of the city where people, despite having public toilets, defecate in the open," Patel said.

AMC officials said they plan to advertise the scheme at locations known to be hot spots for public defecation. They said the scheme, scheduled to take effect within the next 8-10 days, could lead to heavy fines for people who continue to forgo the toilets in favor of expelling their waste in public areas.