The Nagpur Municipal Corporation’s (NMC) initiative to install smart toilets in the city faced a hurdle as Nagpur Improvement Trust (NIT) and the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) declined to issue no-objection certificates for the project.
Due to obstacles, Municipal Commissioner Abhijieet Chaudhari’s plan for 36 smart toilets in various parts of the city needs to be modified. The Municipal Corporation will now build 25 smart toilets on roads owned by it, as stated by NMC Chief Engineer Rajiv Gaikwad.
Gaikwad also added that, the construction cost for these 25 toilets is 16.50 crore, and a tender for the project has been released, with the bid expected to be finalized by mid-January.
This isn’t the first time NMC has faced challenges in building public toilets; recently, the Nagpur Smart and Sustainable City Development Corporation (NSSCDCL) blacklisted ERAM Scientific Solutions Private Limited for failing to install advanced smart e-toilets.
On July 26, 2022, the NSSCDCL awarded a contract worth 8.38 crore to a Kerala-based firm for installing 100 toilets. The firm was tasked with completing the installation within nine months and maintaining the units. However, only 12 units (six each for women and men) were installed, leading to the project’s abandonment as the agency withdrew midway.
NMC data indicates that the city currently has 64 public toilets, with Gandhibagh zone, a well-known commercial hub, having the highest number of public toilets. Dharampeth zone follows with 14, while the Laxmi Nagar zone has only one public toilet, Lakadganj has 2, and Hanuman Nagar, Nehru Nagar, and Mangalwari zones each have three. Dhantoli and Satranjipura zones have seven public toilets each.
The demand for public toilets can also be gauged from the fact that in last calendar year the NMC’s nuisance detection squad had penalised 84 people for peeing in the open and recovered a fine of 42,000.
In the meantime, a public toilet situated on the premises of the regional transport office in Nagpur city, off Amravati Road, has remained closed for over a year. This extended closure is causing inconvenience, particularly to hundreds of visitors, especially women.