SPARC SAMUDAYA NIRMAN SAHAYAK
Read how households upgrade with SSNS loans 
   
 
Community Toilet Blocks
 
Projects in a nutshell
 
 
 
NMMR (Nirmal Mumbai Metro Region Abhiyan), 2007
 
Government of Maharashtra took up the NMMR project in 2007, envisaging the construction of 1,00,000 public toilets across the Greater Mumbai Region in two years. The first phase of the project officially sanctioned the construction of 30,000 toilet seats in 14 Urban Local Bodies (ULBs). SSNS was specifically selected because of its demonstrated experience with Participatory community sanitation projects. The model for these toilet blocks are similar to the ones constructed under MSDP. 289 out of a total work order of 363 were constructed under NMMR. Many sites had to be cancelled due to land ownership issues and political entanglements.
     
     
 
 
   
 
       
SSP, PUNE, 1999 MSDP, MUMBAI NMMR, MUMBAI, 2007  
       
       
 
Policy + Impact
 
In 1998, through advocacy efforts of the Alliance to provide sanitation facilities to urban slum dwellers, the Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai (with World Bank funding at the time) called upon NGOs to demonstrate pilot slum sanitation projects. Since, then the alliance has constructed several toilet blocks across Mumbai using the funds provided by the authorities and has had several impacts on sanitation policy.
 
01 Policy: The Indian Alliance along with the Water and Sanitation Program (WSP) played a significant role in developing the open defecation free policy, which became a national policy in 2009-10.

02 Procurement: The alliance set norms for allowing NGOs/urban poor to take part in the implementation of sanitation projects under various government schemes.

03 Maintenance/Operation: The alliance advocacy to form Community Based Organizations (CBOs) to give them the responsibility of the operation and maintenance of the toilet block was included as part of policy in 2006 under MCGM toilet projects.

 04 Design: In 1995, the alliance set new norms for toilet design, including pour-flush latrines in equal numbers for men and women, specially designed children’s squats, a community hall and caretaker’s room on the upper floor of toilet blocks.