PIL for public toilets in Development authority colonies

PIL for public toilets in Development authority colonies

I, along with daughter, law student Tanaya Thakur, have today filed a PIL in Allahabad High Court, Lucknow Bench to direct the Development authorities and Housing Boards all over India to provide public toilets in all their colonies.

The petition says that discharge of human waste is a basic human need and open defecation is a violation of Human rights. Though the development authorities, housing boards and private builders have built large number of colonies, but these colonies have no public toilets.

As per petitioners, these authorities and builders earn huge profits as they get land from the farmers at throw-away prices through land acquisition process and sell plots and houses at very high rates, hence they be directed not only to include public toilets in all future colonies but also to build such toilets in all existing colonies built by them

 विकास प्राधिकरण कॉलोनी में सार्वजनिक शौचालय हेतु पीआईएल

मैंने अपनी पुत्री विधि छात्रा Tanaya तनया के साथ पूरे देश में विकास प्राधिकरणों तथा हाऊसिंग बोर्ड की कॉलिनियों में सार्वजनिक शौचालय बनाए जाने जाने के लिए इलाहाबाद हाई कोर्ट, लखनऊ बेंच में आज एक पीआईएल दायर किया है.

याचिका के अनुसार मल-मूत्र त्याग मनुष्य की बुनियादी जरूरत है और खुले में शौच मानव अधिकारों का हनन है. यद्यपि विकास प्राधिकरणों, हाऊसिंग बोर्ड तथा प्राइवेट बिल्डरों ने कई सारी कॉलिनियाँ बनायी हैं पर उनमे सार्वजनिक शौचालयों का पूर्ण अभाव है.

हमारा कहना है कि ये प्राधिकरण और बिल्डर किसानों से बहुत सस्ते दर पर अधिग्रहित जमीन काफी महंगे दरों पर बेच कर भारी मुनाफा कमा रहे हैं, अतः उन्हें यह निर्देशित किया जाना चाहिए कि ना सिर्फ भविष्य की सभी योजनाओं बल्कि पूर्व में बनायी गयी सभी कॉलोनियों में भी सार्वजनिक शौचालयों का निर्माण करें.

 Dr Nutan Thakur
Lucknow
# 094155-34525

Copy of the Writ Petition---


In the Hon’ble High Court of Judicature at Allahabad, Lucknow Bench, Lucknow

Writ petition No-               of 2013 (PIL-Civil)

Dr Nutan Thakur and another                                                            Petitioners

Versus

Union of India and another                                                      Respondents

INDEX

S No	Description of documents relied upon		Page No
		From	To
1.	List of Dates and Events (separate)	Separate
2.	Memo of Writ Petition
3.	Photo Identity of the petitioner
4.	Affidavit

                              

Lucknow                                                                             Tanaya Thakur
Dated-  15/12/2013                                                      Petitioner in Person                                                                                                        # 94155-34525

In the Hon’ble High Court of Judicature at Allahabad, Lucknow Bench, Lucknow

Writ petition No-               of 2013 (PIL-Civil)

Dr Nutan Thakur and another                                               Petitioners

Versus

Union of India and another                                                      Respondents

                             LIST OF DATES AND EVENTS

S No               Date                                                   Event                       

1.     1950                                           Constitution of India promulgated

                                         

Right to live with human dignity is the fundamental right of every citizen of this Nation, as directed by the Hon’ble Supreme Court and this Hon’ble Court on in numerable occasions. As stated in Pt. Parmanand Katara vs Union Of India & Ors and Paschim Banga Khet Mazdoor samity by the Hon’ble Supreme Court it is the duty of the State to save every life and to provide them life with dignity, even if financial resources are needed for providing these facilities. Discharge of human excreta (urination and faeces discharge) are a basic and essential need. Proper facilities for discharge of human excreta is a matter of human dignity and its denial is a direct denial of Fundamental Rights as enshrined in Article 21 of the Constitution. This issue has been clearly ignored in the town planning by the two respondents. Even in newer townships and colonies developed by the various State agencies and private  builders, there is a complete lack of public toilets. This affects both the poor as well as the rich people. The various Development Authorities are mostly cash-rich organizations because they get lands at very cheap rates through the misuse of the Land Acquisition Act by paying trifle to the farmers and selling these lands at exorbitant prices. The same hold true for private colonizer/builders who are granted permission by the Development agencies. Hence these bodies can be and shall be asked not only to incorporate public toilets in future plans but to also build public toilets in all the existing colonies built by them so far. This is a matter related with Human Rights and is hence a matter of larger Public Interest

Hence this Writ Petition.       

Lucknow                                                                             Tanaya Thakur
Dated-  15/12/2013                                                      Petitioner in Person                                                                                                        # 94155-34525

In the Hon’ble High Court of Judicature at Allahabad, Lucknow Bench, Lucknow

Writ petition No-                           of 2013 (PIL-Civil)

1.     Dr Nutan Thakur, aged about 40 years, w/o Sri Amitabh Thakur r/o 5/426, Viram Khand, Gomti Nagar, Lucknow

2.     Tanaya Thakur, aged above 18 years, d/o Sri Amitabh Thakur r/o 5/426, Viram Khand, Gomti Nagar, Lucknow --------          Petitioners

Versus

1.     Union of India through Secretary, Ministry of Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation, Nirman Bhawan, New Delhi,110011

2.     State of Uttar Pradesh through Principal Secretary, Housing and Urban Development, Civil Secretariat, Lucknow        ----  Respondent

Writ Petition under Article 226 of the Constitution of India

To,

The Hon’ble Chief Justice and His other Hon’ble companion Judges of the aforesaid Court:

The humble petition of the above named petitioner most respectfully begs to submit as under:

1.     That by means of this petition, the petitioner is invoking the extra ordinary jurisdiction of this Hon’ble Court vested with it through Article 226 of the Constitution to file this Public Interest Litigation (PIL) with a prayer to kindly issue a Writ of mandamus directing the respondents to frame definite policies as regards creation of public urinals/toilets, including their requirement, functional and operational aspects etc in association and assistance with the various Development Authorities, Government Housing Authorities etc along with the private colonizers and builders given land and/or licence to build colonies by these Development Authorities, Housing Authorities etc, so as to provide these people a human life with dignity, as being the fundamental right of every citizen under Article 21 of the Constitution of India, extended, explained and illustrated through various International Covenants, National laws and judgements of the Hon’ble Supreme Court and this Hon’ble Court and other Hon’ble High Courts. It is also being prayed to kindly direct the respondents to amend their town-planning laws (rules, regulations, bye-laws, guidelines etc) and modify their activities in such a manner that it incorporates creation of adequate number of urinals/public lavatories etc in all the future town-planning activities by these Development Authorities, Housing Authorities etc along with various private builders. Thirdly it is being prayed to kindly issue a Writ of mandamus directing the respondents that all the Development Authorities, Housing Authorities etc and various private builders shall ensure creation of adequate number of urinals/public lavatories etc in all the existing town-planning activities already done by them. It is being prayed to kindly issue a Writ of mandamus directing the respondents to direct these Development Authorities, Housing Authorities along with all the urban local-self government agencies etc to study the need, requirement and feasibility of creating adequate number of urinals/public lavatories etc in all the existing cities, to the best possible extent, within the existing monetary and other resources and to actually implement them.

The petitioners declares that they have not filed any Writ Petition before the Hon’ble Supreme Court and this Hon’ble Court either at Allahabad or its Lucknow bench pertaining to the subject matter and/ or for the relief prayed for in the instant writ petition. It is further declared that in respect of the same subject, no caveat notice has been received by the petitioners. As far as they know there is no authoritative pronouncement by the Hon’ble Supreme Court or this Hon’ble High Court on the specific issue raised here.

2.     That this is a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) being filed for providing adequate number of public urinals/lavatories in future as well as existing planned towns as well as in the already existing non-planned old towns of the State.

3.     That the Hon’ble Supreme Court of India in Balco Employees Union (Regd.) vs Union Of India & Ors (Transfer Case (civil) 8 of 2001) said-“PIL was not meant to be adversarial in nature and was to be a cooperative and collaborative effort of the parties and the Court so as to secure justice for the poor and the weaker sections of the community who were not in a position to protect their own interests.”

4.     That in People's Union For Democratic Rights vs Union Of India (1982 AIR 1473, 1983 SCR (1) 456), the Hon’ble Supreme Court said-“ Of course, the task of restructuring the social and economic order so that the social and economic rights become a meaningful reality for the poor and lowly sections of the community is one which legitimately belongs to the legislature and the executive, but mere initiation of social and economic rescue programmes by the executive and the legislature would not be enough and it is only through multidimensional strategies including public interest litigation that these social and economic rescue programmes can be made effective. Public interest litigation, as we conceive it, is essentially a co-operative or collaborative effort on the part of the petitioner, the State or public authority and the court to secure observance of the constitutional or legal rights, benefits and privileges conferred upon the vulnerable sections of the community and to reach social justice to them. The State or public authority against whom public interest litigation is brought should be as much interested in ensuring basic human rights, constitutional as well as legal, to those who are in a socially and economically disadvantaged position, as the petitioner who brings the public interest litigation before the Court. The state or public authority which is arrayed as a respondent in public interest litigation should, in fact, welcome it, as it would give it an opportunity to right a wrong or to redress an injustice done to the poor and weaker sections of the community whose welfare is and must be the prime concern of the State or the public authority”, whereby adding-“Millions of persons belonging to the deprived and vulnerable sections of humanity are looking to the courts for improving their life conditions and making basic human rights meaningful for them. They have been crying for justice but their cries have so far been in the wilderness. They have been suffering injustice silently with the patience of a rock, without the strength even to shed any tears”.

5.     That the issue being presented in this PIL fulfills the conditions being presented and illustrated in both the above mentioned judgements.

6.     That the Petitioners state that in pursuance of Rule 1, subrule (3A) of Chapter XXII of the Allahabad High Court Rules 1952, they shall be presenting all the relevant facts related with themselves, their particulars, their past works, their concerns and their credentials etc. Petitioner No 1 is a well-known and nationally recognized social activist and freelance journalist who wants to genuinely and positively contribute to the society in all possible ways. She works primarily in the field of transparency and accountability in governance, Human Rights and assisting in the enforcement of Rule of law. The matter being presented here is primarily related with Human Rights.  The petitioner has filed a very large number of important PILs in this Hon’ble Court. She has also undertaken many other important public works and has been widely appreciated for her work at various quarters. Petitioner No 2 is a student of Second Year, Law at Chanakya National Law University, Patna. She is also concerned with various social issues and has previously spearheaded a movement, along with her brother, Sri Aditya Thakur, against Sri Nirmal Baba against whom they filed an FIR after the intervention of the learned Chief Judicial Magistrate, Lucknow.

In pursuance of the above Rule, they state on oath that the public cause they are seeking to espouse through this Writ Petition is to seek a life of dignity for poor persons as well as for others by providing adequate number of public lavatories/urinals in planned townships as well as other urban parts. The Petitioners declare that the present Petition is being filed by way of public interest litigation and the Petitioners do not have any personal gains or interest of any kind in the matter. It is also stated on oath that the entire litigation costs, including all charges are being borne by the Petitioners only. The Petitioners state that an appropriate research, to the best of their abilities, has been conducted in the matter raised in the Petition. As far as the Petitioners are aware there is no authoritative pronouncement by the Hon’ble Supreme Court or this Hon’ble High Court on the specific issue raised here. The Petitioners put it on oath that they are not filing this PIL with any ulterior motive save and except as stated hereinabove nor have they received any compensation through any backdoor activity while filing this PIL. They further state on oath that they have no personal or private interest in the matter. The Petitioners further put it on oath that the result of the Litigation will not lead to any undue gain to them or anyone associated with them or any undue loss to any person, body of persons or to the State.

7.     That Article 22 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR, for short) to which India is a signatory says-“Everyone, as a member of society, has the right to social security and is entitled to realization, through national effort and international co-operation and in accordance with the organization and resources of each State, of the economic, social and cultural rights indispensable for his dignity and the free development of his personality”

8.     That Article 25(1) of UDHR says-“Everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate for the health and well-being of himself and of his family, including food, clothing, housing and medical care and necessary social services, and the right to security in the event of unemployment, sickness, disability, widowhood, old age or other lack of livelihood in circumstances beyond his control.”

9.     That India is also a signatory to International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESC, for short) where Article 11 says-“ The States Parties to the present Covenant recognize the right of everyone to an adequate standard of living for himself and his family, including adequate food, clothing and housing, and to the continuous improvement of living conditions. The States Parties will take appropriate steps to ensure the realization of this right, recognizing to this effect the essential importance of international co-operation based on free consent” while Article 12(2)(b) says-“ The steps to be taken by the States Parties to the present Covenant to achieve the full realization of this right shall include those necessary for the improvement of all aspects of environmental and industrial hygiene.”

10.                       That section 2(d) of the Prevention of Human Rights Act 1993 says-“human rights means the rights relating to life, liberty, equality and dignity of the individual guaranteed by the  Constitution or embodied in the International Covenants and enforceable by courts in India.”

11.                       That in India the concept of human rights emphasizing pivotal position of individual citizen stretches back to the first millennia. Human rights have been an inherent component of various philosophies that have flourished in India. The leaders of the Indian National Movement stressed the primacy of human rights in the future constitutional set-up. The Indian Constitution, as a result, stands as one of the most comprehensive and self-contained documents on human rights.

12.                       That India took active part in drafting of the Universal Declaration on Human Rights. India is a signatory to the six core human rights covenants, and also the two Optional Protocols to the Convention of the Rights of the Child. India had played an active role as member of the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) since its creation in 1947.  India was elected in 2006 as a member of the newly established Human Rights Council (HRC), which replaced the CHR,

13.                       That coming to the matter of the PIL, there can be no two opinions that discharge of human excreta is a natural human need.

14.                       That Human excreta/waste is a waste type usually used to refer to byproducts of digestion, such as feaces and urine. Human waste is most often transported as sewage in waste water through sewerage systems. Alternatively it is disposed of in nappies (diapers) in municipal solid waste.

15.                       That human waste is considered a biowaste as it is a good vector for both viral and bacterial diseases. It can be a serious health hazard if it gets into sources of drinking water. The World Heath Organization reports that nearly 2.2 million people die annually from diseases caused by contaminated water. A major accomplishment of human civilization has been the reduction of disease transmission via human waste through the practice of hygiene and sanitation, including the development of sewage systems and plumbing.

16.                       That Sanitation is the hygienic means of promoting health through prevention of human contact with the hazards of wastes as well as the treatment and proper disposal of sewage wastewater. The World Health Organization states that: "Sanitation generally refers to the provision of facilities and services for the safe disposal of human urine and feces. Inadequate sanitation is a major cause of disease world-wide and improving sanitation is known to have a significant beneficial impact on health both in households and across communities.”

17.                       That it is a well-known fact that in India, a very large number of people have been going out of their houses for disposal of human waste. This tendency was and is still more in rural India than urban India. Though this trend has decreased, but there are still a substantial proportion of rural population discharging human wastes- both urine and faeces, in open.

18.                       That similarly there are a substantial number of people even in urban areas who are forced to defecate in open. This number might be much smaller than rural India but still it is quite a substantial one.

19.                       That without defending the open defecation in rural areas, the petitioners would like to say that since there are still large open areas in villages, hence open defecation is somehow less difficult and less hesitating work in rural areas than urban areas. The petitioners make it very clear that this difference in urban and rural areas is only in degrees and they are not defending open defecation in rural areas in any manner. But defecation in open in urban areas is definitely much more difficult, troublesome, irritating, shameful, hesitant and disgusting for those forced to go for open defecation in urban areas vis-à-vis rural areas because of the extremely high population density, lack of any open substantial space, almost complete utilization of available urban land and omnipresence of human beings.

20.                       That having settled and agreed upon this fact that open defecation in urban areas is much more difficult, irritating and disgusting than in rural areas, it would also be agreed by one and all that first and foremost those who have no option, who are extremely poor, who live in wretched conditions and who belong to the lowest rung of the society are forced to opt for open defecation (both urination and faeces discharge) because they singularly lack any alternate way of defecation.

21.                       That unfortunately this includes both men and women and children belonging to both these genders.

22.                       That in urban areas, such people include a large number of workers coming/migrating from rural areas in search of livelihood, mostly living in slums (jhuggis) or even in open space. They also include house servants and maids who live/work in good houses but are not permitted (for various reasons) by the house owners to use their toilets and are hence forced to go out in open to defecate and urinate.

23.                       That again it is a well-accepted fact that while faeces discharge in open is equally shameful and appalling for men and women, due to typical human body structure, in the case of urination, the situation faced by the women is much more awkward and embarrassing than men.

24.                       That other than these lower strata of people, every other person is also forced to defecate in open and/or urinate in open, despite having a house with a urinal when he/she is moving in some other locality away from his house, where there is non-availability of public urinals.

25.                       That in above-mentioned situations, even if a person has a urinal at his/her own house, the call of the nature can’t be waited for and the person is forced to defecate (which more commonly includes urination but also sometimes include faeces discharge) in open because of complete lack of any public toilet in the affordable vicinity.

26.                       That it is also seen that while men are more used to such open urination, mostly women not used to open urination and discharge of faeces are forced to control their natural calls for many minutes or hours, before they are able to reach any suitable place- either their homes or that of any friends etc or any public lavatory which are extremely far and rare.

27.                       That there can be no two opinions about the fact that all the above-mentioned conditions are gross violations of human rights, including open defecation by poor people not having toilets in their homes, defecation by people having toilets at homes but forced to defecate at far off places and also forcible control of natural call particularly by women not used to defecation in open.

28.                       That open defecation- both discharge of faeces and urination is extremely harmful- definitely more so in urban areas than rural areas. The major reasons to stop open defecation are often health related and connected to the human dignity aspect, especially among women and adolescent girls. Open Defecation leads to incidence of several diseases, especially among the poorest of the poor. Open Defecation also costs individuals their dignity and self esteem. It is a matter of shame and humiliation, especially among the women to defecate or bathe in the open and they also undergo physical and psychological trauma due to this practice. Fecal matter defecated in the open leads to breeding of mosquitoes and flies and these insects then transfer the germs and bacteria from feces to food and water sources. Poor living conditions, ignorance about the ill effects of open defecation and intake of contaminated food and water leads to the incidence of communicable diseases, a major source of health expenditure for the rural poor. In short, Open defecation is a serious threat to health and nutritional status, in addition to the safety of women and girls.

29.                       That thus it is a indisputable fact that open defecation is a gross violation of Human Rights and any such practice in any manner in urban areas is much more filthy, disgraceful, dangerous, embarrassing and harmful than in rural areas because of extremely high population density, lesser open area etc.

30.                       That it would be appropriate to mention at this place that theoretically the respondents claim to include public sanitation (public toilets etc) an object of utmost priority in their overall policy but in practice their intent does not seem to corroborate with the facts on the ground. Thus while the old cities which developed in their own way in unplanned manners over centuries or over the last few decades do not have any facilities for public toilet/urinals which have been almost completely ignored in the process of development of these cities, even in the so-called planned cities and planned urban developments, this fact has been completely ignored.

31.                       That for instance in Uttar Pradesh, the Uttar Pradesh Urban Planning and Development Act, 1973 was promulgated which apparently is “An Act to provide for the development of certain areas of Uttar Pradesh according to plan and for matters ancillary thereto.”

32.                       That reasons for enacted of this Act proclaims-“In the developing areas of the State of Uttar Pradesh, the problems of town planning and urban development need to be tacked resolutely. The existing local bodies and other authorities inspite of their best efforts have not been able to cope with these problems to the desired extent. In order to bring about improvement in this situation, the State Government considered it advisable that in such developing areas. Development Authorities patterned on the Delhi Development Authority be established. As the State Government was of the view that the urban development and planning work in the State had already been delayed it was felt necessary to provide for early establishment of such Authorities”

33.                       That in section 2 of the above Act, it says-“'amenity' includes road, water supply, street lighting, drainage, sewerage. public works and such other convenience as the State Government may, by notification in the Gazette specify to be an amenity for the purposes of this Act”, 'Development Area' means any area declared, development area under Section 3 and 'the Development Authority' or 'the Authority', in relation  to any development area, means the Development Authority  constituted under Section 4 -for that area:

34.                       That section 3 says-“If in the opinion of the State Government any-area within the State requires to be developed according to plan it may, by notification in the Gazette. declare the area to be a development area”, section 4 creates Development authorities while as per section 7-“The objects of the Authority shall be promote and secure the development of the development area according to plan and for that purpose the Authority shall have the Power to acquire, hold, manage and dispose of land and other property, to  carry out building, engineering, mining and other operations, to execute works in connection with the supply of water and electricity, to dispose of sewage and to provide and maintain other services and amenities and generally to do anything necessary or expedient for purposes of such development and for purposes incidental thereto.”

35.                       That section 8 of this Act says-“(1) The Authority shall, as soon as may be, prepare a master plan for the development area. (2) The master plan shall-define the various zones into which the development area may be divided for the purposes of development and indicate the manner in which the land in each zone is proposed to be used (whether by the carrying out thereon of development or otherwise) and the stages by which any such development shall be carried out; and serve as a basic pattern of framework within which the Zonal development plans of the various zones may be prepared. (3) The master plan may provide for any other matter which may be  necessary for the proper development of the development area”

36.                       That thus the above provisions of law talk of basic human provision/amenities including “to dispose of sewage and to provide and maintain other services and amenities” and “any other matter which may be  necessary for the proper development of the development area” but unfortunately what happened in actual implementation is that these Development Authorities seem to have completely forgotten public toilets/lavatories and their utility, need and requirements in proper town-planning/planned city development.

37.                       That such Acts are there is almost all the States of India. For instance, there is Madhya Pradesh Town and Country Planning Act 1973, The Bihar Town Planning and Improvement Trusts Act, 1951, The West Bengal Town & Country (Planning & Development) Act, 1979, The Karnataka Town and Country Planning Act, 1961, the Town Planning Act, 1939 (for Kerala), Maharashtra Regional and Town Planning Act, 1966., Tamil Nadu Town Country Planning Act 1971, the Orissa Town Planning and Improvement Trust Act, 1956, the Punjab Regional and Town Planning and. Development Act, 1995 etc

38.                       That each of each Acts talk of planned developments and the assignment of this task to the Development Authorities and/or other suitable government instrumentalities.

39.                       That each of these Acts all over India, broadly/loosely regulated, assisted and coordinated by the Respondent No 1, also talk of basic amenities including disposal of human waste but somehow this extremely important aspect of providing due focus and attention to creation of public toilets even in the newly planned cities and colonies has been ignored by the two respondents, which being a matter of extreme public importance and also being a matter of Human rights and the violation of Fundamental Rights of the citizen (including particularly the poor and the downtrodden) is being raised through this PIL.

40.                       That the result of this situation is that no space has been specifically marked for public toilets in any of the town planning in the development areas.

41.                       That this can be seen and verified from the fact that even in those areas developed by the Development Authorities in UP themselves or by other State housing agencies in UP like Uttar Pradesh Housing and Development Board (Awas Vikas parishad) etc, no public urinal/lavatory has been constructed. Thus, while one can see a few public parks, market spaces etc in the area/colonies developed by the State Development authorities and other State housing agencies, no public toilet/urinal can be seen in any of the large or small colonies developed/created/built by these authorities. This situation can be seen all over Gomti Nagar area, Indira Nagar area, Hardoi road scheme, janakipuram scheme, Kanpur road scheme etc and/or all other areas developed by Lucknow Development authority in Lucknow. The same holds true for all the areas developed by Ghaziabad Development Authority, New Okhla Development Authority, Greater NOIDA, Kanpur Development Authority, Gorakhpur Development Authority and so on and so forth. This also is true for all the colony/scheme developed by Awas Vikas all over the State in various district headquarters and other places. In all these places, no public toilets have been made, as has been verified by the petitioners through their personal knowledge and experience and also through their possible public contacts all over the State of UP which can also be verified by this Hon’ble Court. This also holds true for the alleged planned development all over the country, under the aegis, assistance, coordination and support of respondent No 1, where one can find many other public facilities but no scope for public toilets despite its being one of the most basic and fundamental human needs. It could be a possibility that some of the markets, public spaces etc might be having provisions for public toilets but either these provisions remain only on paper and do not get implemented or even if there are made in some public spaces, more often than not they are kept closed for general public use and are used almost exclusively by the people in these public spaces and not outsiders.

42.                       That this is the most shameful and disgusting part of the so-called urban planning by the two respondents.

43.                       That previously the Government of India had the National Housing Policy (NHP)- 1998 which said among its Aims-“Ensuring that all dwelling units have easy accessibility to basic sanitation facilities and water.”

44.                       That now there is the National Urban Housing and habitat Policy 2007 where as per Para 1.1-““Urban” in India is defined as a human settlement with a minimum population of 5000 persons, with 75% of the male working population engaged in non-agricultural activities and a population density of at least 400 persons per sq. km. Further, all statutory towns having a Municipal Corporation, Municipal Council or Nagar Panchayat as well as a Cantonment Board are classified as “urban”. At Para 1.16, it says-“Given the degraded habitat in which slum dwellers live and the frequent episodes of illness characterizing slum families, it is of vital importance that special attention is paid to urban health and hygiene on the one hand and social and preventive medicine on the other hand. In order to improve the quality of life in urban areas, it is of critical significance that the housing stock is improved through urban renewal, in situ slum improvement and development of new housing stock in existing cities as well as new townships. Further, the enhancement of housing stock must be accompanied with high quality provision of basic services. It is a well established fact that safe, hygienic and spacious provisioning of housing duly buttressed with adequate basic services and a congenial habitat promotes significant improvement in productivity of workers.

45.                       That the Action Plan of this Policy at Para 6 says- “(i) The Central Government will encourage and support the States to prepare a State Urban Housing and Habitat Policy and also a State Urban Housing & Habitat Action Plan. This may include passing of specific Acts by the States/UTs (with legislature) for achieving the housing policy objectives through legal & regulatory reforms, fiscal concessions, financial sector reforms and innovations in the area of resource mobilization for housing and related infrastructure development at the State/UT level.  ii) In order to augment sustainable and affordable housing stock alongwith related infrastructure like water, drainage, sanitation, sewerage, solid waste management, electricity and transportation, the Action Plans of States/UTs should focus on accelerated flow of funds for housing (including various cost-effective slum-related options) and infrastructure. The State/UT Action Plan should also encourage promotion of planned and balanced regional growth, creation of sustainable employment opportunities, protection of weaker sections/ vulnerable groups preferably in their present residential location, conservation of urban environment and promotion of public private partnerships. iii) The State/UT level Policy and Plan should also provide a road map pertaining to institutional, legal, regulatory and financial initiatives in relation to (i) supply of land (ii) modification of Acts/Bye-laws (iii) promotion of cost effective building materials and technologies (iv) infrastructure development and (v) in situ slum development. Further, the Action Plan should make specific provision for use of information technology for planning, MIS and online e-connectivity in a time bound manner. iv) The State/UT level Policy and Plan should also indicate concrete steps for motivating, guiding and encouraging a participatory approach involving all stakeholders like CBOs, NGOs, State parastatals, ULBs, Cooperative Sector and Private Sector in order to synergise community, cooperative and private resources alongwith Government resources.”

46.                       That even the UP Government’s Urban Housing Policy 1995 says- “आवासीय विकास एवं पर्यावरण प्रबन्ध- आवासीय विकास एवं पर्यावरण प्रबन्ध को परस्पर सुसम्बद्ध करने के लिए विकसित कालोनियों में पार्क एवं खुले क्षेत्र के –उपयोग परिवर्तन/आवंटन पर प्रतिबन्ध, हरित पट्टी के भू-उपयोग परिवर्तन पर नियन्त्रण, आवास योजना में समुचित मात्रा में हरित पट्टी एवं पार्कों का प्राविधान एवं उनका समुचित रख-रखाव, बाग/वन क्षेत्रों का संरक्षण, ठोस कूड़े का एकत्रीकरण एवं निस्तारण, अवासीय योजनाओं में सड़क निर्माण के साथ-साथ ड्रेनेज, आदि व्यवस्थाएं सुनिश्चित की जाएंगी।“

47.                       That from the above, it is easily seen that theoretically at the Policy level both the respondents give utmost importance to sanitation and sanitation facilities.

48.                       That but unfortunately, in practice this is not being ensured either in UP or in the entire Nation by the two respondents.

49.                       That while not much can be done immediately and instantly (in the first phase) about the already brought up old parts of the cities, but what is even more troubling and disturbing is the fact that despite specific Acts and policy measures, the two respondents have not thought of public toilet/urinals in the planned growths by various government agencies- Development authorities, Housing Boards, Nagar Nigam, Nagar Mahapanchayat et al.

50.                       That as explained in the above Para, need for public urinal is directly associated with the basic human needs and is an essential part of Human Rights, which was expected from all these planned growths by government agencies, which they can easily do because other than being mandatory due to the associated Human Rights angle, it is also to be understood that most of these Development Authorities and Housing Boards are definitely rich bodies, which are earning huge money by purchasing lands at very low costs due to government intervention where they get extremely cheap land under Land Acquisition Act and later sell them at exorbitantly high prices.

51.                       That hence it would not be difficult for these cash rich Development Authorities and Housing Boards not only to include these public toilets in their development plans but to actually construct them during the planned development, in all their future endeavours.

52.                       That this seems to be a mandatory and compulsory provision for these Development Authorities and Housing Boards for the various reasons enumerated above, more so in the light of their being cash-rich organizations being capable of undertaking this mandatory assignment.

53.                       That the same holds true for all the private builders who have been provided land by these Development Authorities and Housing Boards at relatively cheap rates and are earning huge profits but who are completely unconcerned about this basic requirement, who need to be asked not only to incorporate a sufficient number of public toilets in their plans but to actually build them and to maintain them subsequently

54.                       That this also needs to be extended for Development Authorities and Housing Boards as well as private builders in all cases where their colonies have already come up because of the simple reason that their profitable financial condition and the necessity of such public toilets mandates them to undertake this assignment

55.                       That these are the basic minimum that need to be done by the Development Authorities and Housing Boards in all the existing colonies/areas developed by them and the private colonizers who have been given land and/or licence and permission by them and also in all the colonies that the Development Authorities and Housing Boards and private colonizers are going to build in future.

56.                       That finally there are the already existing old cities which came much earlier than these Development Authorities and Housing Boards.

57.                       That most of them come under the urban self-government agencies like the Nagar Nigam, the Nagar Mahapalika, the Nagar Palika etc

58.                       That it kindly needs to be seen and realized that the financial positions of these urban self-government agencies is not as sound as that of these Development Authorities and Housing Boards or the private builders and colonizers because while the profit margin is immense in the building and housing activities for the simple reason that these Development Authorities and Housing Boards buy land mostly through the blatant misuse of the Land Acquisition Act 1894 at an extremely cheap rate where the land of the farmers are acquired at throw away prices and later they are sold at exorbitant rates resulting in huge earnings, the same does not hold true for most of the urban self government agencies whose nature of work is quite different and where the rates prescribed for their public services is quite reasonable, keeping in view the wider public sentiments.

59.                       That hence it seems appropriate that even for those urban areas developed prior to these Development Authorities and Housing Boards,  these Development Authorities and Housing Boards shall be assigned the task of creating these public toilet/urinals etc in the city, if they exist there. If these Development Authorities and Housing Boards do not exist in the given cities and/or are not financial well-off as some of them are, then this work shall be assigned to the Development Authorities and Housing Boards and/or urban self-government agencies as per the local situations at each place.

60.                       That the exact needs of such public toilets cannot be prescribed by the petitioners in one go because it is definitely a localized need that would have to be assessed on a reasonable basis from place to place, but definitely some concrete and exact policy can be and shall be framed by the two respondents in this regards which would act as a directory framework for all the Development Authorities and Housing Boards, private colonizers and urban local self-governments to follow

61.                       That this Policy measure can include not only the numerical requirement but also the structural and architectural guidelines to be broadly followed.

62.                       That similarly the exact mode of operation and functioning of these public toilets can also be decided by the respondents in these Policy guidelines which will include the fees, if any to be taken for utilization of these public toilets, the mode of maintenance of these public toilets etc

63.                       That in a welfare State like India, it is a necessarily needed policy, imminent for the persons to live a life of dignity and hence being a fundamental right of not only the poor people who live and/or work in these areas but also for every other person who lives in the cities or visits them on various occasions and necessitated by the call of the nature, so as to need some place to urinate and/or defecate.

64.                       That in Pt. Parmanand Katara vs Union Of India & Ors (Equivalent citations: 1989 AIR 2039, 1989 SCR (3) 997) the Hon’ble Supreme Court said-“There can be no second opinion that preservation of human life is of paramount importance” and that-“Article 21 of the Constitution casts the obligation on the State to preserve life. The provision as explained by this Court in scores of decisions has emphasised and reiterated with gradually increasing emphasis that position.”

65.                       That in Consumer Education & Research Center vs Union Of India & Others (Equivalent citations: 1995 AIR 922, 1995 SCC (3) 42) the Hon’ble Apex Court said-“20. The preamble and Article 38 of the Constitution of India the supreme law, envisions social justice as its arch to ensure life to be meaningful and liveable with human dignity. Jurisprudence is the eye of law giving an insight into the environment of which it is the expression. It relates the law to the spirit of the time and makes it richer. Law is the ultimate aim of every civilised society as a key system in a given era, to meet the needs and demands of its time. Justice, according to law, comprehends social urge and commitment. The Constitution commands justice, liberty, equality and fraternity as supreme values to usher in the egalitarian social, economic and political democracy. Social justice, equality and dignity of person are corner stones of social democracy. The concept 'social justice' which the Constitution of India engrafted, consists of diverse principles essential for the orderly growth and development of personality of every citizen. "Social justice" is thus an integral part of "justice" in generic sense. Justice is the genus, of which social justice is one of its species. Social justice is a dynamic device to mitigate the sufferings of the poor, weak, Dalits, Tribals and deprived sections of the society and to elevate them to the level of equality to live a life with dignity of person. Social justice is not a simple or single idea of a society but is an essential part of complex of social change to relieve the poor etc. from handicaps, penury to ward off distress, and to make their life liveable, for greater good of the society at large. In other words, the aim of social justice is to attain substantial degree of social, economic and political equality, which is the legitimate expectations. Social security, just and humane conditions of work and leisure to workman are part of his meaningful right to life and to achieve self-expression of his personality and to enjoy the life with dignity, the State should provide facilities and opportunities to them to reach at least minimum standard of health, economic security and civilised living while sharing according to the capacity, social and cultural heritage.”

66.                       That the Hon’ble Supreme Court also said-“21. In a developing society like ours steeped with unbridgeable and ever widening gaps of inequality in status and of opportunity, law is calalistrubican to the poor etc. to reach the ladder of social justice”

67.                       That Article 38(1) of our Constitution lays down the foundation for human rights and enjoins the State to promote the welfare of the people by securing and protecting, as effectively as it may, a social order in which justice, social, economic and political, shall inform all the institutions of the national life. Art.46 directs the State to protect the poor from social injustice and all forms of exploitation. Article 39(e) charges that the policy of the State shall be to secure "the health and strength of the workers". Article 42 mandates that the States shall make provision, statutory or executive "to secure just and humane conditions of work". Article 43 directs that the State shall "endeavour to secure to all workers, by suitable legislation or economic organisation or any other way to ensure decent standard of life and full enjoyment of leisure and social and cultural opportunities to the workers". As explained above, Art. 25(2) of the universal declaration of human rights ensures right to standard of adequate living for health and well-being of the individual including medical care, sickness and disability, Article 2(b) of the International Convention on Political, Social and Cultural Rights protects the right of worker to enjoy just and favourable conditions of work ensuring safe and healthy working conditions.

68.                       That the expression 'life' assured in Art.21 of the Constitution does not connote mere animal existence or continued drudgery through life. It has a much wider meaning which includes right to livelihood, better standard of life, hygienic conditions in work place and leisure. The right to life with human dignity encompasses within its fold, some of the finer facets of human civilisation which makes life worth living. The expanded connotation of life would mean the tradition and cultural heritage of the persons concerned. In State of H.P. v. Umed Ram Sharma, (1986)2 SCC 68, the Hon’ble Apex Court held that the right to life includes the quality of life as understood in its richness and fullness by the ambit of the constitution. Access to road was held to be an access to life itself in that state.

69.                       That in Bandhua Mukti Morcha v. Union of India, (1984) 3 SCC 161 at 183-84, the Hon’ble Court held that the right to live with human dignity, enshrined in Article 21, derives its life-breath from the directive principles of the State policy and particularly Clauses (e) and (f) of Article 39 and Articles 41 and 42. In C.E.S.C. Ltd. & Ors. v. Subhash Chandra Bose, 1992(1) SCC 441, considered the gamut of operational efficacy of Human Rights and the constitutional rights and held that the right to social justice are fundamental rights.

70.                       That as stated in Consumer Education & Research Center vs Union Of India & Others (supra)- “26. The right to health to a worker is an integral facet of meaningful right to life to have not only a meaningful existence but also robust health and vigour without which worker would lead life of misery. Lack of health denudes his livelihood. Compelling economic necessity to work in an industry exposed to health hazards due to indigence to bread-winning to himself and his dependents, should not be at the cost of the health and vigour of the workman. Facilities and opportunities, as enjoined in Article 38, should be provided to protect the health of the workman. Right to life includes protection of the health and strength of the worker is a minimum requirement to enable a person to live with human dignity. The State, be it Union or State government or an industry, public or private, is enjoined to take all such action which will promote health, strength and vigour of the workman during the period of employment and leisure and health even after retirement as basic essentials to live the life with health and happiness. The health and strength of the worker is an integral facet of right to life. Denial thereof denudes the workman the finer facets of life violating Art.21. The right to human dignity, development of personality, social protection, right to rest and leisure are fundamental human rights to a workman assured by the Charter of Human Rights, in the Preamble and Arts.38 and 39 of the Constitution.”

71.                       That in Paschim Banga Khet Mazdoor samity vs State Of West Bengal & Anr (Equivalent citations: 1996 SCC (4) 37, JT 1996 (6) 43), the Hon’ble Supreme Court said-“ The Constitution envisages the establishment of a welfare state at the federal level as well as at the state level. In a welfare state the primary duty of the Government is to secure the welfare of the people. Providing adequate medical facilities for the people is an essential part of the obligations undertaken by the Government in a welfare state.

72.                       That in Paschim Banga Khet Mazdoor samity(supra), the Hon’ble Supreme Court also came with the question of finances and monetary equations where it said-“It is no doubt true that financial resources are needed for providing these facilities. But at the same time it cannot be ignored that it is the constitutional obligation of the State to provide adequate medical services to the people. Whatever is necessary for this purpose has to be done. In the context of the constitutional obligation to provide free legal aid to a poor accused this Court has held that the State cannot avoid its constitutional obligation in that regard on account of financial constraints. [See : Khatri (II) v. State of Bihar, 1981 (1) SCC 627 at p. 631].”

73.                       That what hold true for the above cases hold true for provision of public toilets as well and what the petitioner prays for is nothing more than a right to life with dignity for these people, which as illustrated in great details above, is an intrinsic Fundamental Right of all the citizen, including particularly the poor ones and may kindly be granted by the two respondents as being their mandatory duty, as explained above and this Hon’ble Court is directly prayed to give a sympathetic hearing to this matter and issue suitable directions to the respondents which will go a long way in making life much better and much dignified for the people living in urban areas and other family members.

74.                       That in such circumstances, the petitioner, approaches before this Hon’ble Court through this PIL, being left with no other option than to approach it with this Petition to ask for certain prayers because of the reasons being stated among the Grounds as enumerated below.

75.                       That the petitioner’s photograph and Identity proof has been enclosed along with.

GROUNDS

(1)            Because right to live with human dignity is the fundamental right of every citizen of this Nation, as directed by the Hon’ble Supreme Court and this Hon’ble Court on in numerable occasions

(2)            Because as stated in Pt. Parmanand Katara vs Union Of India & Ors (supra) by the Hon’ble Supreme Court-“There can be no second opinion that preservation of human life is of paramount importance” and that-“Article 21 of the Constitution casts the obligation on the State to preserve life.”

(3)            Because as stated in Paschim Banga Khet Mazdoor samity(supra) by the Hon’ble Supreme Court-“It is no doubt true that financial resources are needed for providing these facilities. But at the same time it cannot be ignored that it is the constitutional obligation of the State to provide adequate medical services to the people. Whatever is necessary for this purpose has to be done”

(4)            Because discharge of human excreta (urination and faeces discharge) are a basic and essential need

(5)            Because proper facilities for discharge of human excreta is a matter of human dignity and its denial is a direct denial of Fundamental Rights as enshrined in Article 21 of the Constitution

(6)            Because this issue has been clearly ignored in the town planning by the two respondents

(7)            Because even in newer townships and colonies developed by the various State agencies and private  builders, there is a complete lack of public toilets

(8)            Because this affects both the poor as well as the rich people

(9)            Because the various Development Authorities are mostly cash-rich organizations because they get lands at very cheap rates through the misuse of the Land Acquisition Act by paying trifle to the farmers and selling these lands at exorbitant prices

(10)      Because the same hold true for private colonizer/builders who are granted permission by the Development agencies

(11)      Because hence these bodies can be and shall be asked not only to incorporate public toilets in future plans but to also build public toilets in all the existing colonies built by them so far

(12)      Because these bodies, along with some of the cash-rich urban local self-government organizations need to be asked to study and subsequently build public toilets in the unplanned old cities

(13)      Because this is a matter related with Human Rights and is hence a matter of larger Public Interest

PRAYER

Wherefore, it is most respectfully prayed that this Hon’ble Court may be pleased to-

(a)             Kindly issue a Writ of mandamus to the two respondents to frame definite policies as regards creation of public urinals/toilets, including their requirement, functional and operational aspects etc in association and assistance with the various Development Authorities, Government Housing Authorities etc along with the private colonizers and builders given land and/or licence to build colonies by these Development Authorities, Housing Authorities etc

(b)            to kindly issue a Writ of mandamus to the two respondents to amend their town-planning laws (rules, regulations, bye-laws, guidelines etc) and modify their activities in such a manner that it incorporates creation of adequate number of urinals/public lavatories etc in all the future town-planning activities by these Development Authorities, Housing Authorities etc along with various private builders.

(c)             to kindly issue a Writ of mandamus directing the two respondents that all the Development Authorities, Housing Authorities etc and various private builders shall ensure creation of adequate number of urinals/public lavatories etc in all the existing town-planning activities already done by them.

(d)            to kindly issue a Writ of mandamus directing the respondents to direct these Development Authorities, Housing Authorities along with all the urban local-self government agencies etc to study the need, requirement and feasibility of creating adequate number of urinals/public lavatories etc in all the existing cities, to the best possible extent, within the existing monetary and other resources and to actually implement them

(e)             any other order that this Hon’ble Court deems fit in the interest of larger public interest and in the interest of cause raised here 

 Lucknow                                                                Tanaya Thakur
Dated-  15/12/2013                                          Petitioner in Person                                                                                                        # 94155-34525

In the Hon’ble High Court of Judicature at Allahabad, Lucknow Bench, Lucknow

Writ petition No-                           of 2013 (PIL-Civil)

Dr Nutan Thakur             and another                                               Petitioners

Versus

Union of India and another                                                     Respondents

AFFIDAVIT

I, Tanaya Thakur, aged above 18 years, d/o Sri Amitabh Thakur and Dr Nutan Thakur (petitioner No 2) r/o 5/426, Viram Khand, Gomti Nagar, Lucknow, religion Hinduism, education- Law student, profession- Law student, the deponent, do hereby solemnly affirm and state on oath as under-

1.     That the deponent is petitioner No 2 in the above noted petition and as such she is fully conversant with the facts and circumstances of the case, deposed to hereunder. She also declares that she is making this oath on behalf of petitioner No 1 as well.

2.     That the contents of the paragraphs                                                                        of the Writ petition are true to my personal knowledge,                                            based on documents and records and                                                   believed to be true or are based on legal advice.

3.     That the Annexure No NONE is the true copy of their original.

Place Lucknow                                                                  (Tanaya Thakur)

Date-    15/12/2013                                                       Deponent

VERIFICATION

I, the deponent above named, do hereby verify that the contents of paragraphs 1 to 3 above this Affidavit are true and correct to my knowledge and belief. No part of it is false and nothing material has been concealed. So, help me God

Signed and verified this the                             day of                                    2013  at Lucknow

Deponent

Identification

I identify the deponent, on the basis of records produced before me, who has signed before me.

                                    Advocate

Solemnly affirmed me on                                 at                                am/pm by the deponent Tanaya Thakur, who has been identified by Sri                              clerk to Sri                                                                                                                                       , Advocate, high court, Lucknow Bench, Lucknow

I have satisfied myself by examining the deponent that she understands the contents of this Affidavit which have been read over and explained to him by me

                                                                                                Oath Commissioner