-PTI
The Planning Commission today clarified that Rs 35 lakh wasn’t spent on two of its toilets but an entire block of lavatories under “routine maintenance” and said it was “unfortunate” to call it wasteful expenditure.
“While the amount of Rs 35 lakh being mentioned (in an RTI reply) is correct, an impression is being created that this has been spent on two toilets. This is totally false because these toilet blocks have multiple seats in addition to a separate facility for the differently abled. Each of these blocks can be simultaneously used by approximately 10 people,” the commission said.
It had come under criticism after it was reported that Rs 35 lakh was spent on renovating on two toilets.
The RTI reply said because of pilferage, “an access-control system was tried but not found feasible in practice”.
Today, the commission said the toilets being renovated were public toilet blocks, not private ones for senior officials or members. “A common complaint over the years was the poor quality of the toilets in the building — a complaint made not just by the ministers and foreign dignitaries, but also by the staff and the journalists,” it said.
During renovation, it was found that old plumbing and sewerage systems needed to be replaced and fire-control mechanisms had to be added.
Deputy chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia iterated that the sum wasn’t spent on two toilets but under a “major modernisation of toilet blocks in the 50-year-old building”.