Bmc plans to charge you for using its loos

The civic administration had tabled the policy for pay and use toilets on June 23 before the law committee. The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) is planning to charge Re1 at public

urinals run by NGOs on behalf of the civic body. However, the law committee of the BMC has opposed the proposal saying why should citizens pay as it is the civic administration's duty

to provide sanitation services in the city. The civic administration had tabled the policy for pay and use toilets on June 23 before the law committee. The discussion on the policy, however,

took place on Wednesday. According to the policy, the civic body will now charge Rs5 each for using the toilet and bathing and Re1 for urinal. Earlier, the charges were Rs2 each for using

the toilet and bathing. Urinal usage was free. Chairman of the law committee Krishna Parkar said that people will give even Rs10 since it is a necessity. "This is a basic necessity for

human beings and BMC has to provide sanitation facilities for citizens as an obligatory duty. While charging for toilet facilities and bathing is justified, charging Rs5 is exorbitant,"

said Parkar. Parkar added that people using the services are poor. If we charge so much this will only amount to encouraging them to defecate in the open which will go against the

government's endeavour to control open defecation. A civic official said that upkeep of public toilets is very difficult as they need proper cleaning and daily maintenance. And labour

is expensive, he added. Deputy municipal commissioner Prakash Patil said that we are designing special toilets in the city for women which the NGOs will have to maintain. "With new

financial incentives, NGOs will be able to provide better services and even we can question them if they don't maintain the toilets well," he said.