BHUBANESWAR: The municipal authorities of Bhubaneswar and Cuttack have been asked to revise the user fee collected from people for using community toilets in the twin city.
Director of Municipal Administration Sangramjit Nayak has directed commissioners of Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) and Cuttack Municipal Corporation (CMC) to reduce user charges of community toilets which are operational under different toilet projects, including project Samman.
The direction came after Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Department expressed concern over collection of high user charges, which he felt, may deter the community from using the facility.
“The objective behind installation of such community toilets is to promote toilet usage to the make the area open defecation free, rather than generating revenue out of the project for its sustenance,” said an official.
Both the commissioners have been asked to take proactive steps to fix a nominal charge at the earliest.
Collection of nominal user fee will not only bring collective ownership or belongingness of the community but also provide small fund to be used for the purpose of maintenance.
“The user fee should be fixed by way of taking the community members into confidence, so that the beneficiaries can pay and use the toilet. The differential amount to sustain the maintenance of the community toilets will be met out of the fund of the corporation,” the officer added.