The much-touted e-Toilet project of Nagpur Smart and Sustainable City Development Corporation Limited (NSSCDCL), which was supposed to have started two years ago, is still facing administrative hurdles and it is likely to take one more month to get functional. In the upcoming ‘Swachh Survekshan 2025’, the e-toilets or smart toilets would play a major role in earning marks for the city in ‘Waste Water Management’ category, but the delay in functioning of these toilets may give a setback to Nagpur in the rankings. To provide relief to people at public places in the city, NSSCDCL had set up six units of total 12 e-Toilets as pilot project at six different locations in the city.

 

All the six e-Toilets are still not fully functional due to unavailability of electricity connection and delay in construction work. “Three units out of six are almost ready to use, it just requires electricity connection, which we are expecting to get within 2/3 days and the toilets will get functional in the next 15 days. Whereas, remaining three units are already installed, but some trenching work, which requires digging roads are pending and it will be finished in the next one month,” Dr Sheel Ghule, General Manager (Environment), NSSCDCL told ‘The Hitavada’. Dr Ghule also informed that the civic body has appointed a Nashik-based firm to install remaining e-toilets and to maintain it. These unmanned electronic toilets are self-cleaning, portable and use sensor-based technology to operate.

 

As a pilot project, e-toilets have been installed in Ramdaspeth, Jaitala, Somalwada, Khamla Square, Kriplani Chowk, and Jaiprakash Nagar at locations identified by NMC. Initially, the project was awarded to a Kerala-based company named ERAM Scientific Solutions. The company was supposed to install 100 such e-toilets within nine months. However, the company failed to do so and as a result, Nagpur Municipal Corporation (NMC) blacklisted the company last year. Thereafter, Dr Abhijit Chaudhari, Municipal Commissioner and Administrator cut short the project from 100 to 25 units at roads owned by NMC. The cost of building 25 e-toilets is Rs 16.50 crore whereas each e-toilet costs around Rs 8 lakh. The blue toilets are for men and the pink ones are for women. After inserting a coin, the toilet gets flushed before and after use. After the user exits the facility, the toilet cleans itself with UV radiation. For waste management, the e-toilets have been connected to drainage lines. Biodigester will be installed wherever that is not possible.