MUMBAI: The Maharashtra LokAyukta on Wednesday passed an order recording the state and BMC’s decisions to demolish old toilets and construct new facilities at the Oval Maidan and Cross Maidan in Mumbai.
This decision followed a suo motu issue taken up last year regarding the lack of facilities for women at such playgrounds. The LokAyukta, Justice (Retired) V M Kanade, was informed that under the guidance of the Guardian Minister, Deepak Kesarkar, a decision was made to demolish the old toilets and construct new ones.
The new facilities will include a coffee machine, ATM machine, and toilets for both men and women, comprising Indian toilets as well as Western-style toilets. Toilets for physically handicapped persons, facilities for taking baths and changing clothes, and a sanitary napkin machine will also be made available. Additionally, there will be a locker room and a waiting room. BMC stated that construction has already commenced at Oval Maidan, Azad Maidan, and Cross Maidan.
Last October, the LokAyukta, Justice Kanade, expanded the scope of his earlier order regarding facilities at Oval and similar maidans for women cricketers. He directed a Special Inquiry Team (SIT) to be set up to address the urgent need for facilities for office-going women in the city. The state Urban Development Department set up the SIT in January.
V. Radha, Additional Chief Secretary (Services), General Administration Department, informed the LokAyukta that the SIT has directed authorities statewide to collect data on available facilities and that the PWD prepared plans for the construction of toilets. Several UDD officials, including Prashant Pawar, Chief Engineer (SWM), BMC, and A. N. Bhondve, Deputy Secretary, Women & Child Development Department, appeared before the LokAyukta.
On 23 September 2024, the LokAyukta took suo motu cognizance of a report in the ‘Times of India’ from the previous day, which stated that women players didn’t come to play cricket at Oval due to a lack of facilities. Justice Kanade, who last year observed how the report highlighted “disheartening” facts, noted that the “logistical oversight” was “emblematic of a broader societal disregard for women’s sports and their needs.”
The LokAyukta last year recommended that the state perform an infrastructural audit for women sportspersons and immediately rectify the “deficiencies.” Justice Kanade stated, “The true potential of women’s cricket can only be realised when female athletes are provided with an environment that respects and nurtures their talent. Facilities that cater to their specific needs are not optional; they are fundamental to their dignity and development as athletes.”
The LokAyukta also noted how office-going women in Mumbai lack proper facilities, but “in all developed countries such as Japan, France, and Europe, such facilities are available every 200 metres, and paid toilets are made available for women who go to work.”
The govt, acting on these concerns, said it would make facilities available on its land and would need to make necessary changes to the Development Plan for it. “This way, open spaces will be protected,” the state said.