The Hindu : New Delhi News : Sulabh to man community toilets

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, Sep 23, 2004

New Delhi

New Delhi

Sulabh to man community toilets

By Our Staff Reporter

NEW DELHI, SEPT. 22. The Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD)'s Standing Committee today cleared the handing over of almost 2,000 community toilet complexes built across the Capital to a non-governmental organisation -- Sulabh International.

Interestingly, the Councillors of both the Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party had been strongly objected to the move stating that the NGO's track record was not clean and had also been blacklisted by the Corporation on an earlier occasion. But the Standing Committee meeting today passed the proposal by just adding the clause of biennial review of the proposal.

After receiving Japanese assistance, a total of 1,963 toilet complexes were constructed by the MCD under the Yamuna Action Plan that were handed over to various NGOs and self-help groups to be operated under no-profit-no-loss basis. But the project proved to be a major fiasco with a majority of complexes becoming defunct. It was here that the MCD decided to rope in Sulabh International that had been working in community toilet projects for years. However, the Councillors protested the move.

Now under the new proposal, Sulabh International will operate and maintain all the 1,963 toilet complexes and would bear all the expense incurred in their maintenance from the earnings made from public using them and by utilising advertisement spaces. However, the MCD would continue to get tax from the NGO earned through the sale of advertisement spaces. The MCD has decided to handover the toilet complexes for a period of 30 years with the provision of biennial revision and monitoring of the functioning of these public utilities. However, there were some protest against the move by the BJP which objected to the handing over the complexes to Sulabh International, particularly when the MCD had found that it had violated earlier agreements with the Corporation.

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