The cleaning of public toilets in the city will soon be taken over by private housekeeping agencies.
Representatives of such agencies and companies manufacturing modular toilets will meet with officials of the Chennai Corporation on Thursday, as part of an initiative to improve maintenance of public toilets in the 15 zones.
“Unauthorised players supported by councillors will not have a role in the upkeep of public toilets anymore. There will be no collection of fees at public toilets once the private housekeeping agencies take over. The Corporation will pay the agencies for their service,” said an official of the Chennai Corporation.
The civic body has 905 toilets across the 15 zones in the city. According to a recent survey, around 550 remain structurally stable. But unauthorised persons have been collecting a fee from users because of inadequate allocation of funds and sanitary workers for the maintenance of these toilets.
In addition to the existing facilities, over 1,500 modular toilets will be commissioned in the city by March 2015. “A number of companies have expressed interest in setting up the modular toilets. Some of the toilets will be installed after razing down dilapidated ones. A decision is likely after the meeting on Thursday,” said the official.
The civic body will commission the new toilets in at least 348 locations before December 2014.
“The new model will not be based on revenue generation. It will focus on offering the best civic services to all people,” said the official.
