New Delhi: The Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) has banned the indiscriminate use of acid for cleaning public toilets following a complaint by the Delhi Women's Commission over apprehensions of the acid being used in acid attacks on women. The development comes over a month after Chairperson NCW, Swati Maliwal inspected a women's toilet of the Municipal Corporation in front of Gate No. 8 of GB Pant Hospital on April 6.
An order issued by the MCD to the effect of banning the acids for cleaning the toilets cited the Supreme Court order of 2013 which prohibits the over-the-counter sale of acid across India in the wake of raising incidents of acid attacks. “So, the provision for penalty for not using acid for cleaning purpose of toilet is, hereby, abolished/repealed from the contract.
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The agency/operator shall use alternate toilet cleaning material in place of acid. Violation of the instruction will attract penalty including confiscation of acid from the premises,” the MCD order read. It can be recalled that during her Apr. 6 visit to the GB Pant Hospital women's toilet, NCW chairperson, Swati Maliwal had found a 50-litre box filled with acid in the open inside the toilet.
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दिल्ली महिला आयोग की कार्यवाही के बाद दिल्ली नगर निगम ने सार्वजनिक शौचालयों में तेज़ाब के इस्तेमाल पर लगाई रोक‼️#DCWImpact pic.twitter.com/KqmRvr1noX
— Delhi Commission for Women - DCW (@DCWDelhi) May 22, 2023 " class="align-text-top noRightClick twitterSection" data="
">दिल्ली महिला आयोग की कार्यवाही के बाद दिल्ली नगर निगम ने सार्वजनिक शौचालयों में तेज़ाब के इस्तेमाल पर लगाई रोक‼️#DCWImpact pic.twitter.com/KqmRvr1noX
— Delhi Commission for Women - DCW (@DCWDelhi) May 22, 2023दिल्ली महिला आयोग की कार्यवाही के बाद दिल्ली नगर निगम ने सार्वजनिक शौचालयों में तेज़ाब के इस्तेमाल पर लगाई रोक‼️#DCWImpact pic.twitter.com/KqmRvr1noX
— Delhi Commission for Women - DCW (@DCWDelhi) May 22, 2023
On enquiry, the NCW chief was told by an employee of Shri Ram Grameen Vikas Sansthan, which has been given the contract by the MCD to maintain and operate the toilet complex, that they buy acid every month to clean the toilets. Following the reveleation, the Delhi Women's Commission chairperson had taken up the issue with the MCD and demanded an immediate ban on the use of acid at women's toilets.
On May 16, senior officials of the MCD appeared before the NCW over the matter saying that a total of 308 community toilets/public toilets have been outsourced to private agencies. Inquiries revealed that the contract document, approved by the North Delhi Municipal Corporation's House in 2017, promoted the use of acid for cleaning toilets.
The NCW had issued summons to the municipal officials to explain the presence of acid in the toilets, and directed for the immediate confiscation of the supplies by the Delhi Police.
