Exclusive Story
A City Rising With Its Citizens
Chennai is rewriting the story of sanitation. This September, Ferrgra under the guidance of the Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC)/ Special Projects Department, Government of Tamil Nadu, will launch a transformation on the assigned zones that goes far beyond infrastructure. It is a project where public toilets become symbols of dignity, systems become proof of accountability, and governance becomes a global benchmark.
Executed through the Design–Build–Finance–Operate–Transfer Hybrid Annuity Model (DBFOT-HAM), the initiative is poised to make the assigned zones of Chennai a pioneer of urban innovation, inclusivity, and fiscal discipline.
For the first time, India will see public toilets not as neglected corners of a city, but as frontline spaces of pride, safety, and equality.
DBFOT-HAM: A Bold Model for Bold Times
The project, awarded to Urban PCT Three Pvt Ltd backed by Ferrgra, covers 2,760 seats across Ambattur, Anna Nagar, Teynampet (excluding Marina), and Kodambakkam. Construction will run for a year, followed by eight years of operations and maintenance until 2034.
But this isn’t about numbers—it’s about vision.
Under DBFOT-HAM, payments are tied to performance. That means toilets must be built, maintained, and kept to measurable standards before funds are released. This is fiscal prudence at its sharpest: every rupee spent translates directly into citizen experience.
It is the intersection of optics and economics—citizens see progress, while the government ensures every investment delivers value.
Through the Citizens’ Eyes
What makes this project extraordinary is how it has been imagined through the lens of citizens themselves:
• Daily Movers: E-commerce gig workers, cab and auto drivers, bus crews—those who keep Chennai running—will finally have reliable, safe facilities on their routes. Toilets will no longer be interruptions but dignified breaks in a day of service.
• Learners and Workers: College students, commuters, and office-goers will experience facilities that look and feel modern. Louvers for light, privacy partitions, and QR codes for instant feedback will match their demand for transparency and accountability.
• The Vulnerable and Marginalised: Children, elderly citizens, persons with disabilities, and transgender communities will see inclusivity built into design. Child-height fixtures, ramps, handrails, non-slip floors, wheelchair-friendly layouts, and inclusive cubicles will signal one truth: this city belongs to everyone.
This is not infrastructure. This is citizenship engineered in steel, concrete, and design thinking.
The Salient Features: Design Thinking Meets Human Experience
What sets Package 3 apart is not just construction, but the detail-driven reinvention of public toilets:
• Canopies: Shielding entrances from sun and rain, they ensure facilities are usable year-round.
• Louvers & Polycarbonate Sheets: Infusing air and natural light, transforming safety and comfort.
• Privacy View Cutters: Guaranteeing dignity, especially for women, children, and transgender users.
• Durable Partitions: HPL cubicles and urinal dividers combine resilience with privacy.
• Sliding Doors & Grill Gates: Space-smart design with ventilation and security.
• Non-Slip Floors: Replacing risk with reassurance for the elderly.
• Child-Friendly Fixtures: Empowering the youngest citizens to use facilities independently.
• Accessibility: Handrails, ramps, ergonomic washbasins, and wheelchair access as non-negotiables.
• Janitorial Safety: PPE, boots, gloves, and safe cleaning agents with low PH value—professionalising and protecting sanitation workers.
• Staff Welfare: ESIC, PF and accident cover—making sanitation a respected livelihood.
• QR-Linked Feedback: Instant grievance redressal that puts accountability in every citizen’s pocket.
Every feature is a promise. Every design choice is a correction of the past, built for the future.
Clarity, Accountability, and the Role of RTI
This project also redefines how governance is understood. For citizens, clarity is empowerment. For journalists, accountability is duty.
The Right to Information Act (RTI) is not just a legal instrument—it is a civic light. When used responsibly, it explains how milestones are met, how funds flow, and how KPIs like cleanliness and lighting are tracked. RTI in this context is not confrontation but clarity. It transforms government reports into public trust.
This initiative is a call: use RTI as a window, not a weapon. Explain the model, don’t distort it. Illuminate processes, don’t sensationalise them. When clarity wins, accountability becomes culture.
Why Chennai Matters
This project is not just for Chennai. It is a signal to India and the world.
It shows that:
• Fiscal prudence can be paired with ambitious civic delivery.
• Design thinking can transform even the most ordinary services.
• Inclusivity can be embedded, not appended.
• Accountability can be contractual, not rhetorical.
By 2034, when this project concludes, Chennai will not just have 2,760 toilet seats. It will have a new benchmark for urban dignity. And it will stand as proof that when governance meets creativity, transformation is inevitable.
Acknowledgment
This revolution is being guided by the Government of Tamil Nadu and the Greater Chennai Corporation’s Special Projects Department – including the Commissioner, Deputy Commissioner (Works), SPD engineering team, and zonal leadership teams.
The Final Word
Public toilets are rarely glamorous. Yet in Chennai, they are about to become symbols of pride.
This is not a project about bricks and plumbing. It is about how a city sees its people. About how dignity can be measured in everyday details. And about how fiscal prudence and inclusive design can together create systems that last.
When Chennai succeeds—and all signs point to success—it will spark a national wave. Other cities will study. Citizens will demand. Investors will notice. And the world will ask:
When Chennai can, why not us?
