In search of toilets

With ministers falling over each other to contribute to the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan, which is close to the prime minister's heart, it is the public sector undertakings (PSUs) that are facing the heat. PSUs that have already crossed the "two per cent of profits" mark on corporate social responsibility or CSR obligations are being reminded that the mark is only a minimum and not a maximum, so there is scope to spend more. This stricture has resulted in a comic situation for one north-India based PSU, which decided to build toilets in girls' schools within the areas of its operation as part of its CSR budget. However, it found almost all the schools in the area either already had some facilities or had been adopted by others. Now, the PSU is looking for schools in areas where it doesn't even have any projects to fill its toilet quota. Its engineers, who are used to working on mega projects, are cursing their stars and doing toilet feasibility studies.