CHENNAI: The Chennai Corporation council on Tuesday gave permission to build safe toilets for girls at two schools in Saidapet, under the Nirbhaya Fund. ‘Safe toilets for GCC Schools with Girls’ is one of the schemes taken up under the Nirbhaya Project proposed at an estimated cost of Rs 18.87 crore and it was approved by the state-level apex committee in January.
It is planned in 132 middle, high and higher secondary schools having 20,000 girl students, focusing on the refurbishment of 782 toilet seats apart from supplying sanitary storage shelves for 225 toilet blocks in 159 schools for adolescent female students.
In the first phase, a tender was floated for the renovation of toilets in 100 schools at Rs 6.52 crore and 91 schools in phase two at Rs 7.27 crore. Chennai Girls Higher Secondary School (CGHSS) Saidapet and Chennai Public School on Jones Road have a combined strength of 3,500 students.
As per norms, the schools should have a toilet seat for every 25 students. While there are 84 toilet seats currently available of the 140 required, only 54 of these are in a repairable condition which is taken up under the CITIIS project. The additional required number of seats will be built at Rs 3.76 crore.