Karnataka HC demands the information about the count of public toilets in Bengaluru

The Karnataka High Court has instructed the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagare Palike (BBMP) to present the information regarding the total number of public toilets in the city and whether they are enough or not.

The Karnatka HC makes the move after a PIL was filed alleging that the state government and the BBMP have been inefficient in catering to the requirement of hygienic public toilets thereby failing at complying with the Karnataka Municipal Corporation Act.

The PIL was charged by a Bangalore – origin NGO named Letzkit. The notices were given by a division bench headed by Cheif Justice Abhay Shreeniwas Oka and Justice Ashok S Kinagi to the BBMP and the state government.

Going about the law, the Karnataka Municipal Corporation (KMC) Act consists of Section 245 which lays down that the BBMP needs to built and maintain sufficient number of public toilets. According to the reports filed in PIL by the NGO, the city does not meet even 50 % of the required count of public toilets.

Further on, the court has directed the BBMP to present any reports on the attempts taken to monitor the count of number of public washrooms and also from the ones available for women need a specification.

Also, the BBMP has to follow a standard norm of presenting an affidavit stating their compliance with Sections 248 and 249 of the Karnataka Municipal Corporation Act.