NEW DELHI: Just like all citizens have a unique ID, every public and community toilet in the country will have one too. The Ministry of Urban Affairs will give a unique ID number to each public toilet in the country to push authorities for their proper upkeep and maintenance and make officials more accountable.
Over 2.23 lakh such public toilets have been constructed across the country under the flagship Swachh Bharat mission of the NDA government. Maintenance and cleanliness of public toilets have always been a cause of concern, which needs to be addressed to make the mission a success.
A letter to the state authorities by the ministry said that under the Swachh Bharat mission, community toilets and public toilets play a key role in ensuring achievement of Open Defecation-free cities. To ensure that the drive is effective, citizens must have access to a grievance redressal mechanism and be aware of basic information about toilets they wish to use.
“You are requested to identify all public access toilets in your city, provide each of these with unique identification number,” mentioned the letter.
“People should be aware of the grievance redressal system. There is a Swachhta app and helpline where people can complain about cleanliness. All the information should be displayed clearly at the entrance of toilet blocks,” said a senior official of the ministry.
The government has said that urban local bodies are responsible for maintenance of public toilets in markets, fuel pumps, malls, commercial complexes, etc. These toilets have small equipment and users can register their their feedback on the cleanliness of toilets by pressing buttons.
The ministry has also asked state and urban local bodies to connect the public and community toilets in the cities with Google toilet locator service.
In the Hot Seat
Every public and community toilet in the country will have a unique ID
Over 2.23 lakh such public toilets have been constructed across the country under the Swachh Bharat Mission
Objective: For proper upkeep and maintenance of the toilets and make the concerned official more accountable
Unique ID of toilets will comprise name of urban local bodies, ward number, type of toilet, toilet number, facilities available