The World Bank funded project, announced in May 1997, is part of the Rs 1,300 crore Bombay Sewerage Disposal Project and has already received Rs 100 crore. In keeping with WB philosophy, four NGOs - YUVA, Slum Rehabilitation Society, SIDDHI and Apnalay, were to carry out programme publicity as part of phase 1. They were also expected to identify plots for construction.

However, a majority of the spots suggested by the NGOs have been rejected by the solid waste management department on technical grounds. The plots identified are either on private land or fall under high tension electric connections or are situated near drains, said deputy municipal commissioner N B Achrekar. The BMC is now trying to find fresh locations to build the toilets.

The cost ofconstructing one toilet block with 10 seats has been pegged at Rs 10 lakh. The BMC has invited tenders for construction at four sites: Padma Nagar, Baiganwadi, Deonar and Shivaji Nagar, where toilets built earlier by the BMC and now in a dilapidated condition will be torn down.

Construction of the new blocks is expected to be completed in the next six months, said Achrekar. The pre-condition that each adult slum-dweller must pay Rs 100 to use the toilets proved a hindrance earlier, said Deputy Mayor Gopal Shetty.

``Over the years, people have got used to getting toilets free of cost, as they were provided through MLAs' and corporators' funds. Even water and electricity bills were borne by the BMC,'' he said. Now, slum dwellers have to form societies and maintain the toilets themselves as well as pay for water and electricity. Twenty-three such societies have been formed till date and Rs 46,390 collected.

The NGOs pointed out that they were not technically equipped to identify plots. Leena Joshi ofApnalay felt that the BMC should try to seek solutions to problems in site identification. ``Most of the spots we identified were turned down on the excuse that they were marshy spots, or that there was not enough space," she explained.

Construction at Indira Nagar, for instance, has been called off as the number of toilets is not adequate for the population. Of the 12 spots identified by Apnalay, 10 were rejected on the ground that the toilets cannot be constructed by demolishing dilapidated ones. ``Now, we have received a communication from the BMC saying that these spots will be utilised,'' she said.

The NGOs are even unsure if the scheme will progress to phase two. ``We will continue with the scheme as we are involved in other health programmes in the slums,'' said Joshi.

Another NGO SIDDHI is even unsure of going along with the second phase. Said Premila Panwalkar of SIDDHI, ``Our work for phase one is over, and we have not heard from the BMC regarding phase two.''

The scheme will still not solvethe problem of people defecating in the open, as it is being implemented only in municipal slums, 20 per cent of Mumbai's total slum. BMC has also not included those slums where the state government is likely to implement the Shiv Shahi Punarvasan Prakalp. After SSP, the BMC plans to approach the WB for similar schemes for slums on state government and private land. That, though, may still be a long way off.