Community Toilets in Mumbai: History, Perspective and Future (2020)
May 2020
The Swachh Bharat Mission has made a significant impact in reducing open defecation by encouraging construction of individual toilets. However, shared facilities such as community toilets remain an unavoidable reality in our cities despite being perceived as 'unsafe' in SDG discourse. In the state of Maharashtra, 2.2 million people depend on Community Toilets (CTs). 48% of India`s CT users in India live in Maharashtra itself. Four in every ten Mumbai residents are CT users. This research explores the reasons for CTs usage being so widespread in Mumbai. It looks into the history of CT development in the city, current models for construction and operation as well as community perspectives. The project provides some recommendations for a sustainable solution.
