A joint inspection report submitted to the Nagpur Bench of the Bombay High Court has exposed the poor state of public sanitation in the city. Conducted on March 27, the ground-level verification found that many government-managed toilets are suffering from a total lack of maintenance and broken infrastructure. In stark contrast, privately operated “pay and use” facilities were found to be significantly cleaner and better managed.
The inspection was triggered by a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed by Advocate Sandeep Badana, who highlighted an acute shortage of toilets in areas such as Mankapur, Gorewada, Hazaripahad, and Dabha. While the Nagpur Municipal Corporation (NMC) had previously submitted over 1,100 photographs to claim the facilities were in good shape, the court-ordered physical check revealed a different reality. Many units were either non-functional or extremely unhygienic due to the absence of a structured cleaning system.
The report also pointed out several specific failures in the city’s sanitation efforts can be summed up in the following way.
The first factor is accessibility, which comes as a major lack of proper signage and infrastructure for persons with disabilities. The next issue is women’s hygiene, which is also important. While some new toilets featured sanitary pad vending machines, many were found to be broken or non-operational. Lastly, the maintainance is also a big issue. The toilets under the solid waste management department were among the worst-maintained.
To fix these systemic issues, the petitioner suggested modernizing the oversight process by installing QR codes for user feedback, CCTV cameras for monitoring, and a dedicated WhatsApp helpline for complaints. The High Court has been urged to direct civic authorities to prioritize these upgrades and ensure that basic hygiene standards are met across all wards in Nagpur. Stay tuned to know more about it and others only with us and if you have anything to share do comment below and share your thoughts.
