CHENNAI: Most of the 348 modern public toilets including e-toilets are defunct in various places across the city as the four firms that were awarded the contracts for installing and maintaining these toilets have failed to maintain them, accounts committee chairman K Dhanasekaran said at the council meeting on Monday.
“We inspected these toilets in two zones and only two were functioning. The contracts, that were awarded during the AIADMK rule, have failed to cover the maintenance aspects and have pushed these toilets to various stages of damage. The contractors must be blacklisted from participating in future tenders,” Dhanasekaran said.
In response, Corporation Commissioner Gagandeep Singh Bedi said e-toilets have been repaired in 37 places and they have asked the contractors to fix the remaining toilets on a monthly basis. The city corporation is also simultaneously undertaking large scale construction of new toilets and urinals in main roads of the city. He added that in the next two months, 24-hour maintenance contracts of the toilets will be given to contractors with the approval of ward committees.
Dhanasekaran also noted that Rs 20.19 crore of concession fee is pending from four firms that took the contracts for installing and maintaining stainless steel bus shelters and drawing advertising revenue in 2015. Councillors sought an increase in ward funds to `1 crore and also provide them salaries and asked the Mayor and Commissioner to raise the requests before the State Government before the budget session.
Meanwhile, MDMK councillor S Jeevan said the governor’s departure from the original speech at the assembly was in violation of the Supreme Court judgement and existing assembly norms. He condemned the governor’s refusal to utter the names of Periyar, Ambedkar, Kamarajar, Anna and Kalaignar. Jeevan also requested the council meeting sessions to begin with the ‘Thamizh Thai Vaazhthu’ to which Mayor R Priya agreed.