With a majority of the toll plaza operators turning a blind eye to providing basic public amenities at their facilities, the Union Transport and Highways Ministry on Friday decided to construct toilets at all 370 toll plazas across the country under the Centre’s flagship Swachchh Bharat Mission. The toilets will have proper basic amenities like light and water.
Union Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari directed regional officers of NHAI and Road Transport & Highways Ministry in a video conference to start work on the project within the next fifteen days.
An official in the Ministry said that Gadkari has asked the toll plazas on national highways to have separate toilets for men and women with proper signage and banners.
While PVC tanks should be installed to ensure availability of water and there should be proper lighting, the regional officers have been instructed to ensure that the facilities are maintained well and kept clean, the official added.
Setting up of the toilet facilities as well as traffic and medical facilities are part of the agreement signed between the concessionaires and the NHAI. But there have been several complaints from travellers and organizations about the lack of such facilities at many toll plazas.
A survey held in 2015 across Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Chennai, Kolkata, Hyderabad and Pune, found that highways got the highest number of votes (92 per cent) where toilets were needed the most.
As per the NHAI guidelines, there should be toilet facilities at all the toll plazas and at every 50 - 60 kms on the highways, there should be modern amenities including hotels, fuel stations and toilets. But it has been commonly found that contractors are not willing to take up these works as per the allocated tender budget for the highways, thus plan to build toilets on highways is left in limbo.