Around 10 days ago, when Siddhapudur resident S. Manohara Manivannan went to use the newly constructed public convenience facility next to the Gandhipuram town bus stand on Nanjappa Road, he was asked to pay ₹5.
While exiting, when he questioned the person who collected the ‘fee’, he was told that it was a mistake to have collected ₹5 and that it was only ₹4. Thereafter when he demanded a receipt/token, a second person appeared and handed over a receipt.
A month or so earlier, when the family of a Coimbatore Corporation health wing employee went to the toilet, they too were asked to cough up money.
The Corporation, however, maintains that the facility is free. If complaints are brought to its notice, it will not hesitate to initiate action against the contractor.
But the story does not end there. Consumer activists say the Corporation has turned a public convenience facility into a revenue spinning machinery, for it collects money from not only public but also from contractor by way of letting out the premises for advertisement.
Coimbatore Consumer Cause’s secretary K. Kathirmathiyon wants to know if the Corporation is so poor to maintain the toilet that it wants to collect from the public by way of user charges and contractor by way of advertisement revenue.
Incidentally, the Corporation rebuilt the toilet with funds at ₹50 lakh that came from the Central Government under the Swachh Bharat Mission.
Corporation officials, citing the Swachh Bharat Mission guidelines, say the civic body is permitted to generate revenue by way of advertisements.
The guidelines say, “...ULBs (urban local bodies) may also identify land for public toilets and leverage this land and advertisements to encourage the private sector to construct and manage public toilets through PPP agreement.”
But with the Corporation constructing the toilet with government funds, it has no business generating revenue by way of advertisement. And even if it has to, the advertisement has to confirm to norms. In this case, it has not, Mr. Karthirmathiyon alleges.
He adds that if the Corporation is sincere about clean Coimbatore, it should have displayed Swachh Bharat message on the hoarding as its vantage location will reach more people.
However, the Corporation officials maintain that the advertisement is to generate revenue for the toilet maintenance and is in compliance to rules.
