The Hindu       27.12.2017  

Focus on toilet infrastructure to improve city’s ‘swachh’ ranking

BBMP opts for steel structures; nearly 2,500 community toilets, 3,500 household toilets being put up

In a bid to improve Bengaluru’s Swachh Bharat rankings, the civic
administration is finally focussing on filling the gap in toilet
infrastructure. But in a hurry to meet the March 31, 2018 Swachh
Sarvekshan deadline, the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) has
opted for a quick-fix solution and begun work to put up nearly 2,500
community toilets and 3,500 household toilets using mountable steel
structures instead of building permanent ones.

Bengaluru ranked
210 in the recent Swachh Bharat rankings, a steep drop from 38 the
previous year. One of the many reasons for the drop in rankings was that
the evaluation procedure had earmarked 600 marks or 30% of the total
2,000 for making the city open defecation-free. Bengaluru scored a zero
in the category, as no part of the city was declared open
defecation-free.

The BBMP recently conducted a survey of toilets
in the city to fill gaps in infrastructure as the first step towards
declaring the city open defecation-free. The survey revealed that
migrant labourers, especially construction workers and children in slum
pockets, were the most prone to open defecation.

However, based on
findings of the report and certification by heads of all government
schools in the particular wards, the BBMP council recently adopted a
resolution declaring 109 of the 198 wards open defecation-free. All
these are in the core city. The BBMP will have to issue a public
notification declaring these wards as open defecation-free, following
which people can submit objections, which needs to be addressed before
the wards are finally declared open defecation-free.

Sarfaraz
Khan, Joint Commissioner, Health, BBMP, said the survey revealed that
over 3,500 households did not have toilets and there was a need for
2,500 community and public toilets. “Swachh Bharat programme provides
subsidy to build toilets, which we are using and have already begun work
to build these toilets,” he said. A household toilet costs Rs. 14,000
for which the Union government provides most of the subsidy, and a
community toilet costs Rs. 94,000, of which the Union government bears
Rs. 54,000 and the rest the civic body and the State government pitch
in, he said.

The BBMP has opted for a toilet from Tata Steel, a
mountable steel toilet that can be installed in just two days. The model
of the toilet and the vendor are both empanelled by Swachh Bharat
Mission, sources said. Mr. Khan said individual households still had the
option to opt for concrete structures.