Over 100 toilets have been built for exclusive use by transgender people in the national capital, the city authorities informed the Delhi High Court on Monday.
The counsel for the social welfare department told a bench headed by Chief Justice Satish Chandra Sharma that a total of 102 such toilets have been built and 194 more are under construction. “Efforts are being made, and further action will be taken expeditiously,” the counsel told the court.
The counsel for the New Delhi Municipal Council (MDMC), which functions under the union ministry of home affairs, informed the bench that 12 toilets for transgender people are operational in the area under its jurisdiction, and tenders for the construction of 79 more have been awarded. The area is commonly referred to as Lutyens’ Delhi.
The court was hearing a PIL filed by Jasmine Kaur Chhabra seeking direction for constructing separate washrooms for the third gender on the ground that their absence makes the transgender population prone to sexual assault and harassment.
The court, which had earlier ordered expeditious construction of public toilets for transgender people, said it will pass an order on the petition, observing that “substantial progress” has been made by the authorities. “We will dispose of it,” the bench, also comprising Justice Sanjeev Narula, said.
On March 14, the high court warned that in the event of non-compliance with its direction for the construction of public toilets for transgenders, it would order the personal appearance of city officials before it.
