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Ramkrishan Upadhyay
Tribune News Service
Chandigarh, December 10
For more than four years, the Chandigarh Municipal Corporation (MC) has failed to renovate more than 300 public toilets in the city.
The delay on the part of the civic body for the renovation not only harasses general public but also shows the city in bad light. The committee formed by Mayor Davesh Moudgil to prepare a fresh request for proposal (RFP) on public toilet blocks has failed to submit its report even one month after its formation.
The committee was formed on November 12 after the issue was taken up in the MC House meeting. The panel was asked to prepare a fresh proposal and give its suggestions for the RFP. The committee was also asked to explore the possibility of renovation of toilet blocks on public-private partnership (PPP) mode as suggested by Punjab Governor and UT Administrator VP Singh Badnore.
Mahesh Inder Singh Sidhu, chairman of the committee, said they sought a report from officials on the numbers of toilets and the possible expenditure on it.
The tender for refurbishment, operation and maintenance of 300 public toilets for a period of 15 years was issued earlier but never finalised due to various reasons.
Congress councillor Devinder Singh Babla said forming a committee on any issue has become a routine in the civic body. When the MC wants to delay something, they form a committee, he added.
Babla said when the Administrator had asked the MC to start the renovation work on PPP mode, there was no need to constitute a committee. He said the MC and the Mayor had completely failed to resolve the issue, which was pending for years.
It was in 2014 when the civic body took over the maintenance of these public toilets from a Delhi-based company. The MC did not extend the contract of the contractor.
Thereafter, these toilets were handed over to market welfare associations. But their condition has become worse in many markets leading to inconvenience to traders and visitors.
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