An NGO has urged the Bombay High Court to look into the city’s sanitation problem.
PIL wants more toilets for Mumbai and Maharashtra
MUMBAI: An NGO has urged the Bombay High Court to look into the city’s sanitation problem.
“A toilet may seem an unlikely catalyst for human progress, but evidences are overwhelming”, reads a public interest litigation (PIL) filed by Sandeep Jalan of Janhit Manch. The PIL has asked the HC to direct the government and the corporation to take measures to meet the sanitation needs of the people. It also highlights the inadequate number of public toilets in Mumbai and the rest of Maharashtra.
The PIL, which was filed earlier this week, will be heard by a division Bench when the court resumes on January 7. The PIL cites newspaper reports that say Mumbai has 1,300 pay-and-use toilets for a population of 14 million. The PIL also refers to a 2006 UN Human Development Report that estimated one toilet for every 1,440 people in Dharavi.
And it worse for women because inadequate sanitation facility is a matter of “shame, physical discomfort and insecurity”. The PIL says insufficient budgetary allocations cannot be an excuse for not providing the public with enough toilets. “Providing adequate sanitation is as fundamental to human development and national prosperity as economic policy, international trade, health or education”, reads the PIL.
It also points out figures from department of drinking water supply, ministry of rural development. According to website figures on November 20, in 33 districts there are 21,56,437 households with toilets, while 88,96,992 households do not have any.
The PIL compares the contrasting figures with countries like Singapore where there is one toilet for every 75 people. The PIL also quotes a DNA report of November 20, which said that Mumbai is in need of 36,000 more public toilets and the BMC’s target is to provide at least 20,000 more by January 2008. Unhygienic living conditions and poor sanitation facilities create a dangerous environment with health risks, particularly to children, the PIL reads.
j_mayura@dnaindia.net
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