The Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) has strongly criticised the Haryana government for wasting ₹1.34 crore on a failed e-toilet project in Faridabad. The report, tabled in the state assembly on Wednesday, revealed that eight electronic toilets installed under the Smart Cities Mission became defunct within just a few months due to poor upkeep, mismanagement, and weak contract enforcement.
The e-toilets, which were supposed to be modern, unmanned, and self-cleaning, were meant to provide hygienic facilities in public spaces. Instead, they turned into unusable structures, never delivering the promised benefits to citizens.
The project was managed by Faridabad Smart City Limited (FSCL), a special purpose vehicle created by the Centre and the state government. In 2017, FSCL awarded a ₹1.86 crore contract to install, operate, and maintain 10 e-toilets. Of these, eight were installed in October 2018 and two more in January 2019. By August 2019, FSCL had already paid ₹1.34 crore to the contractor for supply, installation, and testing.
The toilets were to be fitted with stainless steel seats, electronic controls for hygiene, and remote monitoring through a GPRS network. They were also supposed to track their health status and usage in real time. However, the CAG report pointed out that FSCL began installation without conducting a proper feasibility study or preparing a detailed project report.
The lack of planning meant that key issues like how many people would use the toilets, how vandalism could be prevented, or how maintenance would be handled were never addressed. The promised GPRS system for remote monitoring was never connected, leaving FSCL unable to track vandalism, theft, machine failures, or even whether the toilets were being used at all.
The project also faced serious contract management lapses. Construction was delayed by 47 weeks, but FSCL failed to impose a penalty of ₹4.25 lakh on the contractor, even though it was clearly stated in the contract. Insurance coverage, which was mandatory, was also incomplete and delayed. The contractor took out fire and special insurance only from May 2019, several months late, and never renewed it after 2020. Required burglary and housekeeping insurance were not taken at all, meaning damages and theft losses were never covered.
The CAG said that FSCL repeatedly issued notices to the contractor for failing to carry out proper maintenance but never blacklisted or terminated the contract. This was despite the FSCL board of directors deciding as early as November 2019 that the contractor should be blacklisted for poor performance. The contractor eventually stopped maintenance in January 2021, but FSCL neither enforced repairs nor claimed the performance bank guarantee of ₹9.31 lakh, which remained valid till September 2022.
The CAG report observed that FSCL not only ignored key safeguards but also failed to act on its own board’s instructions. The board had in July 2019 suggested giving the toilets’ maintenance to another agency. Later in May 2020, it even recommended handing over the e-toilets to the Faridabad Municipal Corporation (FMC). However, FMC refused to take them over, insisting that FSCL fix the existing defects first.
The auditors highlighted that due to the absence of automated monitoring, the e-toilets soon fell into disrepair. Common problems included theft of equipment, vandalism, unhygienic conditions, broken coin machines, and lack of essential items like water and cleaning supplies. Citizens, for whom the toilets were meant, never got the promised hygienic and reliable facilities.
The CAG also criticised FSCL for withholding payments but failing to take meaningful action against the contractor. FSCL claimed it had held back ₹64.48 lakh plus ₹2.30 lakh meant for operations and maintenance. It also said it had released ₹34.51 lakh to the contractor under orders from the Micro and Small Enterprises Facilitation Council in Rajasthan, which FSCL has since challenged in the high court. But the CAG dismissed FSCL’s defence, noting that even after payments were stopped, the company did not get the defects fixed or enforce contract terms.
The audit further pointed out that FSCL’s approach showed poor monitoring, weak enforcement, and negligence. The fact that e-toilets became non-operational within just months of installation was proof of failed planning and oversight.
During an exit conference in June 2023, even the state’s urban local bodies director admitted that the e-toilets stopped working due to poor operation and maintenance. The commissioner and secretary of the department had also earlier directed FSCL to take strict action against the contractor, as decided in board meetings in 2019, but no such steps were taken.
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The e-toilet project was part of the Central government’s Smart Cities Mission, launched to modernise urban spaces and make them more citizen-friendly. FSCL, set up to achieve these goals in Faridabad, chose e-toilets as a pilot initiative to improve sanitation. The toilets were supposed to represent a shift towards modern, automated, and hygienic public services.
Instead, the project became an example of how poor planning and weak monitoring can waste public money. With ₹1.34 crore already spent and nothing to show, the entire effort has been described by the CAG as “wasteful expenditure.”
For Faridabad residents, the failed project means the city still lacks accessible and hygienic public toilets, and taxpayers’ money has gone down the drain. For the government, it is a reminder that smart city initiatives require not just modern technology but also strong planning, accountability, and proper maintenance.
Unless lessons are learned from such failures, experts warn, other Smart City projects may meet the same fate — shiny on paper but useless in reality.
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