The iconic and scenic Marine Drive in Mumbai now boasts of a Rs 90 lakh public toilet, Hindustan Times has reported. This toilet has been constructed under the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiative by the Jindal Group and Samatech making it the most expensive public toilet in the city.

The public toilet has been handed over to the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) for maintenance. The civic body plans to keep the facility free for the first two months after which they might levy a fee.

Usually, Rs 25-39 lakh would have been spent by BMC to construct a public toilet on an average but in this case, they received most of the building material and designing came at zero cost.

“Several other companies and consultants have contributed their expertise and materials free of cost for the [Marine Drive] project. The design of the toilet goes with the art deco architecture [around] and was built using weathering steel. It has solar panels installed on the roof which will generate enough power to illuminate the toilet,” said Akshat Gupta, co-founder of Samatech.

He added that the waste will not be disposed off in the Marine Drive Bay and instead be carried from the sewage tanks to the civic body’s sewage treatment plants.

On Monday (October 1), Yuva Sena chief Aaditya Thackeray inaugurated the public toilet located opposite to the Air India building. “This is a world-class facility being made available to citizens. The toilet has been built under the CSR but it is our responsibility to keep it clean and well maintained,” he said.

A civic official, who wished to remain anonymous, estimated that it would cost the BMC Rs 1 lakh per month for the toilet’s immanence.