Install sanitary napkin dispensing machine at every govt. junior college, HC tells State

Telangana High Court orders State government to provide one sanitary napkin vending machine in every government junior college.

Telangana High Court on Tuesday instructed the State government to take steps to provide one sanitary napkin dispensing machine in every government junior college in the State.

A bench of Chief Justice Alok Aradhe and Justice Anil Kumar Jukanti, passing the order while hearing a PIL petition, directed the government to file compliance report in the matter within three months. During the hearing, the CJ expressed displeasure over the State government not complying with the HC orders citing ‘the change of guard’ as the ground.

In different petitions, the government pleaders and special government pleaders had been requesting the HC to grant additional time to enforce its orders. They were submitting that it had become difficult to implement the HC directions as the government had changed recently and hence sought more time.

During the hearing of the taken-up PIL plea, the CJ sought to know what was the status of the construction of toilets in government junior colleges in the State. The GP concerned, responding to the query from the bench, said he required more time to submit a compliance report ‘since the government has changed’.

“This is too much...construction of toilets in government junior colleges has nothing to do with the change in the government,” the CJ said apparently unhappy with the response from the GP. Noting that construction of toilets as part of a basic need was not a policy decision, the CJ asked the GP as to “how much time will you take for construction of toilets...do require 20 years to construct a toilet?”.

The bench had taken up an English daily news report on the issue of a government junior college at Saroornagar having only one toilet for 700 girl students as PIL petition and took up hearing. During the previous hearing, the CJ instructed the government to ensure that adequate number of toilets were constructed at Saroornagar junior college. Though initially the order was confined to only that college, the CJ later ordered that toilets should be built at all government colleges. The Intermediate Board Commissioner had filed a counter affidavit stating that government had sanctioned ₹10.25 crore for building toilet blocks, supply of drinking water, electric repairs and other facilities in 41 government junior colleges in the State. An additional sum of ₹27.55 crore was also sanctioned for installing 599 toilet blocks in 300 more government junior colleges.

The hearing was posted after three months for next hearing.