Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): The state capital is facing challenges in improving accessibility to public sanitation facilities, which may impact its performance in Swachh Survekshan 2024 ranking.
According to Swachh Bharat Mission guidelines, ‘access to sanitation’ component carries 1,000 marks out of total 12,500 marks in the evaluation process.
Currently, Bhopal has only 214 public and community toilets, with only 8 new public toilets under construction in areas like MP Nagar Zone 1. Worse, some of these toilets are poorly maintained.
One of the two public toilets at 10 No Market has been closed for over a year, further limiting public access to sanitation.
Additional municipal commissioner Devendra Singh Chauhan acknowledged the difficulties the city faces in expanding its sanitation infrastructure. “Finding spaces to construct new public toilets is proving to be a major challenge. But BMC is committed to addressing this issue, with plans to increase the number of public and community toilets in the city,” he told Free Press. To enhance accessibility, BMC plans to introduce signage arrows on streets near existing public toilets, helping residents and visitors locate them more easily.
1,000 marks for `access to sanitation’ in Swachh Survekshan rankings are divided into five key indicators.
They are as follows :
1. Measures taken by urban local bodies to prevent open defecation – 100 marks
2. Functional, well-maintained, and well-equipped public toilets – 300 marks
3. Functional, well-maintained, and well-equipped community toilets – 300 marks
4. Functional, well-maintained, and well-equipped urinals – 150 marks
5. Well-maintained toilets in schools – 150 marks