New Delhi: Flowers, mirrors and even a nappy changing room. That's the new face of public conveniences in the city. MCD ropes in corporates to build and operate world-class loos.
Grab a McDonald's burger and head for the nearest toilet seat. Now, don't get the wrong idea. In the near future, the Capital will have toilets so clean, it would be possible to have a full meal inside, without pinching your nose.
Delhi will soon boast of aesthetically pleasing public conveniences that will be constructed and managed by corporate houses on their premises, if a senior Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) official is to be believed.
"We are all set to usher in a toilet revolution in the city, enabling the common man to avail five-star facilities while using public conveniences and that too without shelling out any extra penny," said Dr Amiya Chandra, Head of Department, remunerative project cell, MCD.
Tenders for the process have already been floated. Top official sources confirmed that fast food giants McDonald's and Wimpy's have given their nod to the proposal and are set to join the bidding process.
According to the proposal, the civic agency has asked the corporate houses to construct state-of-the-art public toilets in the city, integrated into their own premises, so that they could manage it professionally."They may construct the public convenience on the ground floor and maintain the main business on the first floor or following any other design that will facilitate the users," Dr Chandra said.
According to a 2007 report by the civic agency, there are 3,192 public conveniences in the city. They are managed by Sulabh International and the MCD. The Delhi High Court had pulled up the civic body in October for failing to improve the state of public urinals in the Capital despite several directives.
The MCD has also directed the operators interested in constructing the new toilets to maintain the prevalent rates of Rupee 1 at urinals and Rs 2 at lavatories. "The rates must be maintained, at least till the Commonwealth Games are on. Any increase in rates can be considered only after that," Dr Chandra said.
He also added that around 20 companies have been selected under the project, which will construct and maintain the toilets and will have to abide by the stringent standards set by the MCD. The plan is based upon the concept that the standard of a public convenience spot is directly related to the image of the corporate managing it.
"We have selected more than 250 spots in the Capital which are in fact prime areas located in markets and office complexes. The ground floor of the building has to be a toilet while the top floor can be used for serving food & beverage, entertainment purposes or as an office complex," said Dr Chandra.
To ensure that the corporate houses fulfil the responsibility, the MCD has decided to award the contract to companies with a minimum turnover of Rs 300 crore annually. The companies also must have a minimum of five outlets or business centres in the city.
"The idea is to create an atmosphere where the profit and business of the corporate is directly related to the toilets located on the ground floor. The corporate bodies will be bound to maintain the standards, if they wish to do good business," he said.
The responsibility of the toilets' construction and maintenance will solely depend upon the corporate body and it must have a tie-up with an independent housekeeping agency for day-to-day maintenance and cleanliness.
Besides having separate areas for men and women, the toilets would have special areas for handicapped people, and other facilities like nappy changing room for children. The premises will be fully air-conditioned, with flowerpots and large mirrors.
"Toilets are one of the most important infrastructure requirements in the city and we are already spending about Rs 8 crore annually on their maintenance. Each month we spend around Rs 1 crore on public loos. The new toilets would be eco-friendly," said Dr Chandra.
The MCD is also planning to construct toilets cum bathrooms cum dining centres in areas close to the New Delhi Railway Station to facilitate travellers. "Presently, the city of Delhi resembles a stinking toilet, but we are trying hard to make toilets an aesthetic experience," added Chandra.