The Making of Namma Toilet
June 9, 2014
Chandrakant B. Kamble , Commissioner
Commissionerate of Municipal Administration, Government of Tamil Nadu
About CMA
• No. of Municipalities: 126
• No. of Corporations: 9
As per Census 2011:
• Urban Population: 48.45%
• No. of urban households without access to a toilet: 24.8%
Tamil Nadu Vision
The Hon’ble Chief Minister’s vision
is to provide piped and pressurized 24x7 water
supply to 100% of its residents and ensure that
all of them have access to safe sanitation
including open defecation free and garbage
free environment.
Efforts in the past to
address the issue of OD..
User Fees
O&M
.?
Hardware
• Supply driven
• Low Cost
• Technology
Software
• IEC
• Health & Well Being
Are existing solutions taking into account the
needs of the end-user?
WE ASKED THE USERS
Through a study
designed to understand
the sanitation needs &
aspiration of the all
users, and this is what
we found……
Existing public & community toilets are not
usable by all user-groups;
the independent men and women, and the
dependent population like the elderly, children
and differently-abled.
A multi-disciplinary team was
formed to better understand
user-specific needs and
aspirations.
The Need for a Universal Design
“Universal Design is a contemporary concept that
advocates product and buildings be made usable by all
people”
a) Independent users like able-bodied men and
women
b) Dependent users like children, differently-abled,
and
c) Caregivers like parents of children, and adults caring
for the elderly and disabled.
Design Criteria
1.
A Universal Design with access to all user-groups.
2.
Design to address the most basic needs of access, ventilation, natural light
with adequate privacy & safety
3.
A Modular Design that can be scaled-up as per needs.
4.
Solar energy to provide power to the toilet stalls, 24*7 water supply
5.
Safe waste disposal techniques based on site-specific conditions
6.
Easy to maintain including vandal resistant fittings and fixtures
7.
Uniform Identity to drive a sense of ownership and pride.
Toilets for All
A Modular Stall is flexible and
can serve as a standalone unit,
or as family,
shared/neighborhood and
community/public toilets.
Unique Branding and Signage
The toilet stall was named “Namma
Toilet” to inculcate a sense of
ownership and belonging among its
users.
Signage to guide the user became an
integral part of Namma Toilet
Urinals for Men:
To avoid queuing in areas
with high floating
population, this urinal for
men is designed on the same
principles of universal
access.
Namma Toilet has been well-received by the users.
Namma Toilet Usage Details
Ooty
65,710
Usage
57,899
20,451
259
Men
Women
Children
Differently
abled
Namma Toilet Usage Details
Tiruchirapalli
37,781
Usage
27,423
4,246
1,473
Men
Women
Children
Differently
abled
Namma Toilet Usage Details
Coimbatore
31,927
Usage
26,020
16,526
1,965
Men
Women
Children
Differently
abled
Namma Toilet Usage Details
Pollachi
1,954
Usage
1,932
2,600
780
Men
Women
Children
Differently
abled
Namma Toilet Usage Details
Municipality/Corporation
Average Usage Per Day
Pollachi
300
Tiruchirapalli (Srirangam)
275
Ooty (6 sites)
6000
Pallavaram
275
Tambaram
750
Tiruchirapalli (Thiruvedu Street)
200
Coimbatore
275
Arcot
280
A register is maintained outside every location for user-feedback.
Feed Back Date: 06-03-2013
Meenakshi: Very clean a great help
to public. Thanks.
MTC - THO MU SA Union: Thanks to
Tambaram municipality for
constructing this toilet
Toilet User: I also thank the
maintenance staff.
MTC Conductor: It has brought an
end to the sanitation problems
experienced by daily commuters,
bus drivers and conductors.
Babu (College Student): Took some
photos to do some project. It is
very good and more convenient.
Especially the separate toilet for
physically challenged people is
very useful.
Sridhar (Auto Driver):“Namma
Toilet” at the Duraiswamy road
Tambaram is really very nice.
There is only one toilet for gents it
would be really great if one more
toilet is constructed for men
IEC Campaign focuses on user-needs, Namma Toilet as a
24 hour family toilet and messages on health and hygiene
Media Coverage
More Coverage……
A team from Gujarat
comprising the RD & UD
visited and appreciated
Namma Toilet.
Namma Toilet Facebook Page
A video that captures userneeds, aspiration and
feedback……
Lessons Learnt
 For any IEC strategy to be successful, we need to first start by
providing accessible &user-friendly facilities.
 Different user-groups have different needs. Therefore, IEC
Strategy has to focus on all the user-groups.
 Solutions should evolve with changing user-needs and
aspirations.
• School Sanitation in Urban Tamil Nadu:
A study on user-needs
• Retrofitting Public Toilets in Urban Tamil Nadu:
An Engineer’s Manual
• Septage Management
Tambaram’s Community Kitchen
June 9, 2014
Chandrakant B. Kamble , Commissioner
Commissionerate of Municipal Administration, Government of Tamil Nadu
 Bharath Nagar Slum Community in East Tambaram has 269
households out of which 125 do not have a toilet within their
homes.
 The Integrated Sanitary Complex in Bharath Nagar had been
abandoned due to problems in the septic tank .
 In June 2013, the Municipality decided to give a face-lift to the
toilet
 The Septic Tank was demolished and replaced with a 15000Lts.
capacity bio-digester
Before
After
A kitchen was constructed where 12 gas stoves were installed
and powered through the bio-gas produced from waste collected
from the community toilet and kitchen waste.
During the construction phase, the elected representatives and
municipal officials engaged actively with the community.
Lessons Learnt
 Active community engagement and deep
involvement of the authorities is the key to a
successful programme
 Informed decision-making was critical at every stage
to ensure a sustainable solution.