State govt. to HC: Urban local bodies to get new 3,081 public toilets and 1,223 e-toilets under Swatch Bharat Mission

Govt to construct 3,081 public toilets, 2,725 urinals & 1,223 e-toilets in 310 urban local bodies across Karnataka, incl. 600 in Bengaluru. Cost of ₹37.22 cr for toilet blocks, ₹8.72 cr for urinals & ₹30.58 cr for e-toilets. Toilets to cater to 1.57 cr urban pop & 10 lakh floating pop. Steps taken to maintain existing toilets & create committee for women's toilets.

The State government on Thursday told the High Court of Karnataka that 3,081 new public toilets, 2,725 new public urinals, and 1,223 new public e-toilets at various tourist destinations would be constructed under the Swatch Bharat Mission in the 310 urban local bodies across the State, and 600 of these public toilets would be constructed in Bengaluru city.

For construction of these public toilet blocks, the estimated cost is ₹37.22 crores and for the construction of urinal blocks the estimated cost is ₹8,72 crores and for or e-toilets it is ₹30.58 crores, it has been stated in the affidavit filed by Ajay Nagabhushan M.N., Secretary, Urban Development Department. The estimated cost for constructing 600 toilets would be ₹9 crore with each toilet costing around ₹1.5 lakh, the affidavit stated.

The affidavit was filed before a Division Bench comprising Chief Justice Prasanna B. Varale and Justice Krishna S. Dixit during the hearing of a PIL petition filed by Letzkit Foundation, Bengaluru, which had raised issues related to lack of sufficient number of public toilets and maintenance of existing toilets in Bengaluru city.

During earlier hearing, the Bench had imposed a cost of ₹5 lakh on the State government for failing to respond to the PIL for the last three years and even for a specific direction issued by the court on August 8 to file response within three weeks.

However, the Bench on Thursday recalled its earlier order of imposing the cost as the government has come out with positive response to the petition and placed its action plan for constructing toilets not only in Bengaluru city but in various urban local bodies across the State.

Also, it has been stated in the affidavit that that as per 2011 census, excluding Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP), Karnataka’s urban population is 1,57,84,378. The projected population for the year 2026 is 2,01,27,666 and floating population will be five percent of the projected population, which is about 10 lakhs. Based on this floating population, the State has to provide one closet/toilet seat for 250 persons. The government also informed the Court that steps have been take for maintaining upgrading and maintaining the existing toilets.

All municipal corporations have been directed to formulate a comprehensive scheme for the construction of toilets/urinals/restrooms/privies for women walking on the streets and create a committee for this purpose as per the court’s August 8 direction, it has been stated in the affidavit.