State to build toilet for women every 25-50 km on highways

In a bid to meet the long-pending demand of women’s toilets along highways, the state government has decided to finally build these. Women and child development minister Aditi Tatkare gave this information to the state legislature on Friday, on the eve of International Women’s Day. “Keeping in mind the safety and convenience of women commuters, the public works department (PWD) has approved a proposal to construct toilets for women at every 25 to 50 kilometres on highways,” she said.

The central government, under the Swachh Bharat Mission, has been constructing women’s toilets since 2015 at toll plazas on highways built by the National Highway Authority of India. In Maharashtra, despite plans, there has been zero development on the ground. The new toilets will now be built on state highways constructed by state government departments like the PWD and Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation.

Before the beginning of the Maharashtra legislature’s budget session, the women and child development department held a meeting with the PWD, which builds and maintains state/district highways and is also responsible for the construction of government buildings. Tatkare emphasised the need for toilets for women along highways, a fact also mentioned in the women’s policy prepared by the state government.

PWD officials, in turn, pointed out that around 200 sites had been identified for the toilets but the issue of their further maintenance had not yet been resolved. However, it was decided that the PWD would at least start the process of building the toilets at every 25 to 50 km as per the availability of land.

NGOs and women political leaders have been raising the issue of non-availability of clean toilets along highways for years now. In the absence of toilets, women travellers have been forced to restrain their bladder, which is one of the prime causes of urinary tract infections.

PWD minister Shivendra Raje Bhosale recently visited the Mumbai-Goa highway stretches in Konkan to assess the status of work on the ground. After the assessment and a series of meetings with officials, Bhosale has now set a new deadline of December 2026 for the completion of the work.