Unique IDs For Urban Public Toilets Soon For Better Maintenance

New Delhi: Community and public toilets in urban areas across the country will now be allotted unique identification numbers that will be displayed ‘prominently’ at their entrances. The government has come up with this initiative to ensure proper maintenance of community and public toilets as part of the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan. Over 2.34 lakh community and public toilets have been constructed across the country under the mission. And, their maintenance and cleanliness plays a key role in ensuring that the area near the public toilets remains open defecation-free (ODF), as the important aspect of the swachh campaign is sustenance of the ODF status.

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Besides unique IDs, other information like the name of the local body, under whose jurisdiction the toilet falls, details of maintenance authority, name and contact number of supervisor or in-charge and information about the grievance redressal mechanism would be provided, according to an official document issued by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs.

The document issued to state mission directors and municipal commissioners of 4,302 cities mandates them to identify public and community toilets in their jurisdiction and allocate them with unique IDs that have to be ‘prominently’ displayed on their entrances.

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“Citizen must have access to grievance redressal mechanism as well as be aware of basic information about the toilets they wish to use,” the document stated.

“To ensure that the drive is effective, citizens must have access to grievance redressal mechanism as well as be aware of basic information about the toilets they wish to use,” it added.

Under the grievance redressal mechanism, the authorities have been asked to ensure that users should be able to report issues to give feedback on the condition of the toilet on Swachhta App, Google Maps application (if the toilet is mapped on Google Maps) and for any other queries, they may call at Swachhata Helpline (1969).

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Essentially, the underlying idea behind this initiative is that if the community and public toilets across the cities and towns remain in usable condition at all times, one wouldn’t have to resort to open spaces for defecation.

The document also stated that the authorities are required to proactively work with Quality Council of India to map the data of their public toilets as part of the Swachh Survekshan 2018. Notably, the Urban Local Bodies (ULBs) will be evaluated in the Swachh Survekshan 2018 based on the availability of data and feedback submitted on public toilets on Google Maps.

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With inputs from PTI