NEW DELHI: All government buildings and offices of public sector undertaking (PSUs), local bodies, autonomous bodies and Delhi Police in the national capital will soon have toilets exclusively for transgender persons.
Delhi Chief Secretary Vijay Dev has directed heads of all institutions under the Delhi government, chairman of New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC), and Delhi Police Commissioner to construct restrooms for the third gender in their office complexes or allow them to use existing facilities reserved for person with disabilities (PwD) until adequate arrangements are made.
Gender-neutral lavatories are long-standing demanding of the community.
“In compliance with the provisions of section 22 of the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act 2019 for ensuring adequate welfare measures for transgender persons, all public buildings under all the departments, autonomous bodies, PSUs, corporations, and local bodies of Government of NCT Delhi are hereby directed to create separate identified public toilet facilities for transgender persons,” said an order issued by the CS recently.
Senior government officials, privy to the development, said according to the chief secretary’s order, all departments, divisions, and agencies would make toilets for transgender persons for which he had set a deadline of two years.
“In case, separate facilities can’t be built immediately for the third gender, existing standalone toilets for PwDs will be made available to transgender users until dedicated convenience is not created for them. The symbol ‘T’ will be displayed outside the washroom along with the sign of PwD prominently. The CS has given two years time to built toilets for transgender persons. If transgender persons want to use the gender-based toilet, they will be allowed,” said an official.
Besides secretaries of departments and heads of various government institutions including CEO of Delhi Cantonment Board, the order has been sent to all district magistrates and deputy commissioners of police for compliance.
Last month, the New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) announced its plans to build public toilets exclusively for the third gender while finalising its budget.
A senior official of the council, privy to the matter, said that the agency had already started working on the subject and the first exclusive restroom would be ready by end of March, which is being built at Shastri Bhawan.