LAHORE: The Lahore High Court has expressed serious concern over the inadequate number of public toilets across Punjab, particularly for transgender community and physically-challenged persons.

Justice Raheel Kamran made these observations in a written order issued about a recent hearing on a petition regarding the availability and accessibility of public toilets in the province.

The judge noted that the figures submitted by the Punjab government were “alarming” and required the authorities’ immediate attention.

According to a report submitted by the Local Government and Community Development (LGCD) department, as many as 1,420 public toilet facilities currently exist across Punjab. Out of these, 1,293 are functional, while 127 are non-functional and require rehabilitation.

Regrets inadequacy of such facilities for transpersons and physically challenged people

The report showed that only 672 public toilets have been allocated for males, 568 for females, five for transgender persons and 10 for physically-challenged persons, while 114 fall under a combined category.

Justice Kamran observed that despite Punjab being the country’s most populous province, the existing number of public toilets demonstrated the enormity of the challenge and inadequacy of existing infrastructure.

The judge noted that the situation was more concerning for vulnerable segments of society, pointing out that only 10 toilets were designated for physically-challenged persons and five for transgender persons across the entire province.

The judge observed that these figures appeared wholly disproportionate to the needs of such segments and did not adequately reflect the constitutional commitment towards inclusiveness and accessibility of public services.

The judge also expressed concern over a lack of data regarding the distribution of public toilets between urban and rural areas, saying that without such information, it was not possible to determine whether existing facilities were equitably distributed among districts, tehsils and sub-tehsils.

The government had informed the court that the province required 702 additional public toilets and estimated that Rs928.595 million would be needed for the proposed expansion.

The judge observed that access to safe, hygienic and functional public toilets was linked with fundamental rights guaranteed under articles 9, 9-A and 14 of the Constitution, which relate to life, a healthy environment and human dignity.

The judge ruled that the provision, operation and maintenance of public toilets, particularly for women, children, senior citizens, transpersons and physically-challenged persons cannot be treated merely as an infrastructure project or a matter of administrative choices. “Rather, it constitutes an essential public service and an important facet of the constitutional obligations of the state,” the judge maintained.

The judge directed the LGCD provincial secretary to conduct a comprehensive review of existing public toilets and submit a time-bound plan for increasing their number, particularly facilities for women, physically-challenged persons, transpersons and senior citizens.

The judge further directed the department to submit district-wise and tehsil-wise data, separately identifying facilities in urban and rural areas, along with details of underserved areas and the criteria used to determine the requirement of additional toilets.

The secretary was also ordered to ensure rehabilitation of all non-functional public toilets and make them operational at the earliest, while the next report must include progress regarding maintenance, availability of water, drainage and cleanliness standards.

The judge fixed Sept 16 for further hearing and directed submission of a compliance report before the next date.

Published in Dawn, June 20th, 2026