The Planning Commission justified Rs35 lakh spend saying it as ‘routine maintenance and upgradation’. However, it has no answer on money spent for the non-feasible door access control system for toilets
 

After media reports surfaced on how the Right to Information (RTI) application revealed that over Rs35 lakh was spent on renovating two toilets, including the cost on installation of installation of Door Access Control System at Yojana Bhawan, the Planning Commission clarified that it is “routine maintenance and upgradation”, and said that it was found that access-control system was actually not feasible in practice. The RTI applicant has demanded explanation if this amounted to wastage of Rs5 lakh spent to install the system.

Subhash Agrawal, the RTI applicant, told Moneylife, “The clarification is an afterthought, seeing the media reaction on how money was blown up.  While the RTI reply itself indicated that such system is not feasible, the Planning Commission’s reply backed it.”

In a statement the Planning Commission said, “These toilet blocks are meant for shared use and are all being renovated to the same standard. Because there have been instances of pilferages of newly constructed toilets, an access-control system was initially tried, but was not found feasible in practice. Yojana Bhawan is an important public building and must have the essential facilities. The costing and execution of works is not done by the Planning Commission, but by the CPWD (Central Public Works Department) which is the authorized government agency to do the same. The entire work is being done within the budgetary allocation and following the prescribed procedure.”

In a reply to a RTI application by Mr Agrawal, the Planning Commission revealed, “Cost of installation of Door Access Control System is Rs5,19,426 for two toilets. Cost of renovation of two toilets where door access control system is installed is Rs30,00,305.”

A communiqué from Planning Commission clarified that, “It is unfortunate that what is routine maintenance and upgradation is being projected as wasteful expenditure. The toilets being repaired or renovated are public toilet blocks, and not private toilets for senior officials or members. While the amount of Rs30 lakh being mentioned 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 separate facility for the differently-abled. Each of these blocks can be simultaneously used by approximately ten people.”

However, information furnished under RTI revealed that CPWD has provided 60 smart cards for accessing these toilets to users including senior advisors, advisors, directors, personal secretaries, etc, making it clear that it was for private use.
The Planning Commission also said that more than 1,500 meetings are held every year and thousands of people use these public conveniences. 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 who visit, but also by the staff and the journalists. “Does this mean that if I go to Yojana Bhawan, I have to find one of the 60 smart card users before accessing the toilet? Now they are saying the system is not feasible. But they have to answer whether the system is still in place or not in use and also what happened to those smart cards. Also, does this mean that Rs5 lakh is wasted?” asks Mr Agrawal.
 
Experts point out that it is still unclear who is responsible for the expenditure for the renovation on the toilets.