Eight Of Eleven Pune E-Toilets Lie Defunct; Citizens Demand Simple, Practical Alternatives
Pune, 16th April 2025: Out of the 11 e-toilets constructed in Pune in 2018 using funds from the Member of Parliament Local Area Development Scheme (MPLADS), as many as eight are currently non-functional. Some of these toilets have even been removed entirely, raising concerns about wasteful expenditure at a time when the city already faces a shortage of public sanitation facilities. In response, citizens are now demanding that the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) replace these high-tech units with simple, functional public toilets instead.
The e-toilets were installed at a cost of ₹2 crore sanctioned from the MPLADS by then-MP Anil Shirole. The PMC awarded the contract for construction and one-year maintenance to Eram Scientific Solutions without a public tender, citing that the company’s proprietary technology could not be sourced elsewhere.
Though the toilets were installed and maintained until the end of 2019, the company neither transferred the technology to the PMC nor showed interest in renewing the maintenance contract. As a result, the majority of the e-toilets soon became inoperative.
These e-toilets were located in areas such as near Rupali Hotel, Ramoshi Vasti, Hirwai Garden, Sambhaji Garden, Model Colony, Om Super Market, Tingre Garden, Viman Nagar, Nilayam Bridge, Sinhagad Road STP, Wadia College, Tukai Tekdi, LMD Garden, and Bavdhan. Most are now shut, and only three remain barely operational.
In 2023, the PMC issued new tenders and awarded five of these toilets to a new contractor for trial restoration at a cost of ₹1,28,400 each. A further ₹7,000 per month was allocated for their maintenance. Despite spending around ₹5 lakh so far, public use of these toilets remains negligible.
This situation has sparked criticism from residents and activists, who argue that funds should now be directed towards building basic, easy-to-maintain public toilets that truly serve the community’s needs.
