THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The much-touted ‘She-Toilet’ project, which was launched as a model initiative to provide safe, hygienic and accessible public restrooms for women, has failed with none of the 57 toilets functioning. Public money to the tune of Rs 3.40 crores has gone down the drain because of the poorly planned project with no future vision by the Kerala State Women’s Development Corporation (KSWDC).

Initially launched in 2012, the KSWDC piloted the project in Thiruvananthapuram. The plan was to set up women-friendly, technology-driven She Toilets with a slew of features, including a coin-operated sanitary napkin vending machines, an incinerator to dispose of used napkins, electronic display boards on the doors, security features, FM radio and SMS alert. Each toilet cost around Rs 5 lakh and owing to high maintenance cost KSWDC wound up the project following a directive from the state government.

Replying to the RTI filed by Hemaraj K S, a Thiruvananthapuram native, about the status of the She Toilets recently, KSWDC said that the project period has ended and none of the 57 toilets are functional now. “They are spending public money on meaningless projects and not caring to sustain such facilities. The easy way out for the authorities is to abandon the project and tax-payers’ money goes down the drain. The government should show some accountability to the public when they plan projects. They should plan projects in such a way that the money spent is not wasted and the public gets to use the facilities for a longer period,” said Hemaraj K S.

When contacted, an official of KSWDC said that the project was abandoned owing to high maintenance costs. “The operation and maintenance period was over and the maintenance cost was too high and unaffordable. After evaluation, we realised that it was better to install new toilets than maintain the existing ones. We abandoned the project following direction from the state government in 2017. The life of the project was 7 years. After that we didn’t take up any toilet project,” said the official.