Imagine walking around your city, and every time you search for a public toilet, you feel hesitation—because past experience has taught you they’re dirty, unsafe, or simply not built for you. For many women, elders, children, and people with disabilities, even locating a usable facility can feel like an ordeal. Chennai refused to settle for that. Through its new project, the city is rewriting how people see and use public toilets—shifting from dread to trust, from avoidance to acceptance. This isn’t just about building facilities; it’s about respecting dignity.
The Project Behind the Change
The driving force behind the transformation is the Greater Chennai Corporation’s “DBFOT Public Convenience Toilet (PCT)” project. Using a Hybrid Annuity Model, the city invited private partners to not only build or upgrade public toilets but also maintain them for the long term—eight years in this case. The idea is simple: don’t just abandon a facility once construction is complete, but ensure continuous maintenance, monitoring, and accountability. The project covers zones like Ambattur, Anna Nagar, Teynampet (excluding Marina), and Kodambakkam. Contractors are required to finish building or retrofitting within 365 days and then operate and maintain the toilets for eight years. The GCC sets strict performance standards and employs an Independent Engineer to audit everything from cleanliness to safety.
What Makes These Toilets Different
What makes this initiative stand out are the thoughtful details that turn a toilet into a place people actually want to use. Cleanliness is addressed through good lighting, ventilation, and ergonomic layouts that avoid cramped cubicles. Safety is ensured with CCTV cameras, staff uniforms, and real-time feedback systems using QR codes. Inclusivity is prioritized with separate cubicles for women, child-friendly features, transgender-inclusive design, and full accessibility for people with disabilities. These aren’t cosmetic changes—they directly tackle the reasons people avoided such facilities in the past: disgust, fear, exclusion, and lack of trust.
A Behavioural Shift in Action
Another smart aspect of the project is its reliance on behavioural science, particularly the COM-B model: Capability, Opportunity, and Motivation. People need to know these facilities exist and trust their safety (capability), they need the physical and social environment to support use (opportunity), and they need positive experiences that encourage repeat use (motivation). By addressing all three, Chennai is helping citizens change how they think and feel about public toilets.
Impact Beyond the Toilets
The impact reaches beyond the walls of the toilets. Workers maintaining these spaces now have uniforms, training, better pay, and benefits, which boosts their confidence and dignity. Citizens have channels to give feedback, making them feel their voice matters. And the government earns credibility by enforcing service standards, penalizing lapses, and showing results transparently. Public toilets, once symbols of neglect, are now mirrors of how the city values its people.
More Than Convenience—A Matter of Respect
Chennai’s public toilets are transforming from places people dreaded to spaces that represent safety, inclusivity, and pride. They are no longer just about meeting basic needs, but about respecting human dignity. The DBFOT project proves that infrastructure alone is not enough—lasting change comes when design, operation, and accountability go hand in hand. When citizens, government, and contractors align around dignity, even something as ordinary as a public toilet can become extraordinary.