HC directs authorities to build more toilets

New Delhi, Dec 12 (UNI) The Delhi High Court today directed the civic bodies in the capital to establish more toilets in various places for the convenience of the public.

While hearing a PIL on sanitary conditions in the capital, a division bench of Chief Justice M K Sharma and Justice Hima Kohli summoned senior officers of the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD), the New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) and the Delhi Jal Board (DJB) to be present in the court with a proposed plan on January 17, the next date of hearing.

The court asked MCD Chief Sanitary Officer Anil Prakash, who was present in the court, about the reports submitted by the court committee.

The court committee, comprising Advocate Ashok Agrawal, submitted that the capital had 3192 urinals, out of which only 132 had facilities for women.

''There was a failure on the part of the MCD to provide adequate number of well-maintained urinals for women in every zone. It is violation of fundamental rights and human rights of the women guranteed under Articles 14 and 21 of the constitution,'' said the report.

The report said Narela, Najafgarh, Rohini, Civil Lines, West and Karol Bagh zones did not have any toilets for women.

The court asked the municipal authorities to come with a proposal for constructing specially-designed toilets for physically-disabled people.

''The court cannot loose sight of the facts that majority section and poor pay for the maintenance of the toilets,'' the order said.

It was the statutory obligation of the MCD to construct these toilets as part of the public utility system, said the Judges.

The court directed the committee to visit with three of its members the washrooms and its adjoining areas in Karol Bagh, Rohini and Najafgarh to file a status report on its conditions and socio-economic conditions of the people.

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