A citizens’ group in Pune has urged the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) to convert all non-functional e-toilets into simple but clean public toilets and open them for public use.
Vivek Velankar, president of Sajag Nagrik Manch, Pune, sent a letter to the PMC regarding this issue. In his letter, he pointed out that most of the 11 advanced e-toilets built in the city five years ago at a cost of Rs 2 crore are now non-functional.
He mentioned that in 2018, a provision of Rs 2 crore was made from the member of parliament (MP) fund of then Pune MP Anil Shirole to construct advanced e-toilets at 11 locations across the city.
The PMC gave the contract to Eram Scientific Solutions for setting up and maintaining these e-toilets for one year. Since the technology was patented and developed only by this company, the contract was awarded without any tender process.
Velankar wrote, “The company maintained the toilets till the end of 2019, but after that, it neither transferred the technology to the civic body nor took interest in continuing the maintenance contract. As a result, all the e-toilets became non-functional.”
These e-toilets were installed at the following locations—in front of Rupali Hotel, Remoshi Vasti, Hirwai Garden, Sambhaji Garden, Model Colony (Om Supermarket), Tingre Garden (Viman Nagar), Nilayam Bridge, STP on Sinhagad Road, Near Wadia College, Tukai Tekdi, and LMD Garden (Bavdhan).
Velankar also said that later, the PMC floated a new tender and gave a trial contract to Aditya Enterprises in 2023 to repair five of these toilets at a cost of Rs1,28,400 each and maintain them for Rs 7000 per month. Around Rs 5 lakh has already been spent, but as of now, only three out of the 11 toilets are working.
The Sajag Nagrik Manch raised several questions in the letter:
>> “When the city faces a massive shortage of simple yet clean public toilets, who came up with the idea of spending such a huge amount on advanced e-toilets instead of building more basic ones?”
>> “Why was the tender process skipped in favour of a patented technology?”
>> “Does the corporation think there’s no loss because the money came from the MP’s fund?”
>> “When will the authorities understand that MP funds are also public money, coming from taxpayers?”
The group requested the PMC to convert all the non-working e-toilets into clean, simple public toilets and make them available for people to use.
When contacted, PMC Deputy Commissioner Sandip Kadam told mid-day, “We had received the letter from Sajag Nagrik Manch. It is true that these e-toilets were facing a lot of issues like thefts, cleanliness, etc, and they were not working properly. We have decided to shift them to near ward offices or public places where they can be monitored properly.”
E-toilets, or electronic toilets, are smart, automated public toilets that are designed to offer a cleaner and more user-friendly experience compared to traditional toilets. Some models have automatic doors, self-cleaning mechanisms after every use, and sensor-based flushing systems that also clean the floor and toilet bowl. Some units offer coin-operated or app-based access. However, despite these high-tech features, many e-toilets have suffered from poor maintenance after installation, leading to frequent breakdowns and usability issues.
