31 public toilets to be rebuilt

Chandigarh, June 9

People will soon have facilities such as luxurious bath cubicles, touch-free flushing, breastfeeding rooms and automatic sanitary napkin incinerators at 31 ‘aspirational’ public toilets in the city.

The local Municipal Corporation is going to convert existing 31 public toilets into ‘aspirational’ toilets under the Swachh Bharat Mission (Urban) 2.0. The existing toilets will be dismantled and reconstructed in Sectors 7, 8, 9, 11, 18, 20, 26, 28, 37 and 47 along with Mani Majra.

The cost of upgrading these 31 toilets will be about Rs 5.53 crore. According to the MC, earlier, the estimated cost of this upgrade was Rs 3.37 crore, which was approved by the state-level technical committee in March 2022. Later, it was revised to Rs 5.53 crore.

There are about 135 seats in these 31 toilets. The Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs will provide Rs 2.5 lakh per seat for building ‘aspirational’ toilets. Accordingly, funds to the tune of Rs 3.30 crore have been allocated by the MoHUA for the same.

The remaining amount of Rs 2.23 crore is to be arranged by the corporation. The agenda regarding this amount will be tabled in the MC House meeting on Tuesday for approval.