Chandigarh MC’s ad plan for public toilets stalls amid zero bids

Amid a deepening financial crisis, the Chandigarh municipal corporation’s (MC) plan to generate revenue by allowing advertisements on public toilets has hit a roadblock with no private firm showing interest despite three rounds of bidding.

The civic body had aimed to earn at least ₹5 crore annually by offering advertising rights on around 150 public toilets across the city. However, the plan has failed to take off, as all three tendering rounds received zero participation.

Deputy mayor Taruna Mehta attributed the lack of interest to stringent eligibility criteria and rigid terms laid out in the tender documents. “According to councillors, the conditions left little room for smaller firms to apply. The MC needs to revisit and simplify the terms if it wants any response. Instead of awarding the contract to a single firm, the MC could invite multiple firms to bid for smaller clusters of toilets. This would encourage competition and help maximise revenue,” she said.

MC officials said that even pre-bid meetings saw no participation, with no firms raising queries or objections. “After the general house granted approval, we invited tenders three times. If the terms were truly stringent, firms would have raised concerns during the pre-bid meetings. We are re-evaluating the project and will issue fresh tenders with a revised strategy,” an official said.

Advertisement on public toilets has long posed a challenge for the MC. Over the past five years, the civic body has failed to generate sustained revenue from the initiative. In several cases, firms that initially took contracts later backed out, citing issues such as poor toilet maintenance, overgrown shrubs and visibility problems due to untrimmed trees or obstructive unipoles—issues the MC reportedly failed to resolve despite repeated complaints.

The setback comes as the MC struggles to enhance its revenue and reduce dependency on government grants. With income streams shrinking, the civic body is aggressively exploring advertising opportunities citywide, including rights on roundabouts and 54 unipoles in southern sectors.