The civic authorities have decided to opt for public-private partnership (PPP) to rebuild and modernise the pay-and-use toilets in the city.

In the first phase, 12 toilets will be modernised. The Calcutta Municipal Corporation (CMC)’s social sector entrepreneurship programme (SSEP) wing has submitted the list of toilets to municipal commissioner Alapan Bandyopadhyay for approval. “We will soon invite tenders for the project,” said the civic commissioner.

Mayoral council member (slum development and SSEP) Abu Sufiyan said private parties interested in reconstructing and running the pay-and-use toilets will be given advertising rights on the structures. But they will not be allowed to run eateries or other commercial ventures by constructing floors above the toilets. The private parties will also have to pay royalty to the CMC.

Since most of the public works department (PWD) toilets in the city are in a bad shape and unusable, the civic authorities have decided to request the department to hand them over to the CMC. The PWD runs about a dozen public urinals, some of them in key locations like Esplanade, BBD Bag and Jadavpur 8B bus stand. In addition, there are 28 Sulabh complexes among the 172 pay-and-use toilets.

The newly-commissioned toilets include Nivedita Udyan, on the second boulevard at Gol Park, covering 2,500 sq m. It has three domes and a garden near the entrance. Inside, there are eight toilets, nine urinals and two baths. The charges are the same as in other toilets.

According to a civic estimate, about 50 public toilets in the city need to be renovated immediately. Besides, in the Garden Reach area, three public toilets have been encroached upon by criminals.