New Delhi, Sept. 1 -- The Centre on Tuesday informed the Supreme Court that 30,458 gender-segregated toilets with washing facilities have been constructed in schools across the country while 4,236 are under construction.
The government also told a bench of Justices J B Pardiwala and R Mahadevan that all the states and Union Territories (UTs) have started providing sanitary napkins to educational institutions like schools.
Additional Solicitor General Aishwarya Bhati, appearing for the Centre, told the bench that they have filed a compliance affidavit giving details for the last quarter.
"States and Union Territories have reported that 77 per cent, that is 30,458 gender-segregated toilets with washing facilities have been constructed.
Eleven per cent, that is 4,236, are under construction and there is a gap of 12 per cent, that is 4,745," Bhati told the bench.
In a judgement delivered on January 30, the apex court had said that right to life under Article 21 of the Constitution includes the right to menstrual health.
It had directed the states and UTs to ensure that every school, whether government-run or privately managed, in both urban and rural areas, was provided with functional, gender-segregated toilets with usable water connectivity.
The top court had also directed all the states and UTs to ensure that every school provides sanitary napkins to girl students free of cost.
On Tuesday, the top court asked Bhati how many states have started providing sanitary napkins.
Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.