Calcutta High Court Calls For Clear Policy For Construction Of Public Toilets; Suggests Tapping Of CSR & NGO Funds

"All metropolitan cities and towns in this country lack adequate public toilets and most do not possess anywhere a sense of hygiene is maintained," remarked the Calcutta High Court on Thursday while calling upon the Municipal Corporation, Kolkata, to formulate a clear policy for construction of toilets in the city. Right To Sanitation A Fundamental Right: Himachal HC Directs State To Provide Public Toilets On All Highways "A clear policy and road map for the construction of public toilets for use of residents of bustees, pavement dwellers and users of parks should be indicated with a timeline and the mode of implementation also being outlined," the Bench said. "The toilets have to be kept clean and hygienic, a degree of awareness has to be inculcated and local residents, particularly from low income groups, may be engaged for the maintenance and upkeep of toilets with regular monitoring by Corporation officials," the Bench said. While the Court recognized the "crying need" for construction of public toilets for the benefit of visitors and people who live on the streets, it also expressed concern over misuse of such facilities, in the following words: "Experiments at toilets being set up in some parks have sometimes resulted in the park itself becoming a toilet for the locals who do not have access to toilet facilities to descend thereon."