Maharashtra state highways to get 400 toilets

The Maharashtra government has decided to construct a total of 400 toilets along its state highways, in the coming years. In order to do so, the state public works department (PWD) has identified 160 locations so far which can be used for the purpose.

The department has also received 40 proposals from three public sector oil companies to set up the facility at the proposed petrol pumps coming up along state highways. The rest of the spots will be identified with the help of the state revenue department.

Moving ahead with its 2017 decision to construct more toilets along the highways, the state has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with three public sector oil companies — Indian Oil Corp. Ltd (IOC), Bharat Petroleum Corp Ltd (BPCL) and Hindustan Petroleum Corp Ltd (HPCL) to develop toilets along with other facilities such as ATMs and restaurants on the land to be given by the PWD on lease.

“We will construct 160 toilets along state highways in the coming days. One will be able to locate them through a mobile application,” Chandrakant Patil, state PWD minister said on Monday. “The agency that will construct the toilets will also be responsible for their maintenance and security for the next three years. We are planning to appoint women self-help groups to manage the maintenance,” he added.

A senior PWD official said that while they have received 40 proposals from the oil companies, they expect that number to go up to 100.

The toilets will be constructed at an interval of 100kms (approximately one and a half hour travel time) on the entire stretch of state highways. “We are also in the process of identifying the rest of the spots with the help of the revenue department which owns most of the government land in the state,” the official said.