The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has issued new guidelines to upgrade, maintain and monitor public toilets and parking areas at toll plazas on National Highways. The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways announced them on 23 October, saying the aim is clean, safe and working facilities for highway users.

Existing toilet blocks will first get a technical assessment, followed by repairs to flooring, plumbing, fittings, lighting, ventilation, drainage and signage. Cleaning schedules will be set by the size of each block and the traffic it handles. Every covered toll plaza must have at least one universally accessible toilet with barrier-free entry, suitable doorways and grab bars. Parking areas will get marked bays, proper drainage and provision for EV charging in future.

The rules also bring in sensors that track water supply, odour, sewage levels, leaks, electricity and occupancy, with alerts when something goes wrong. That data will feed into a central NHAI dashboard that also tracks complaints and how each maintenance agency is performing.

Why it matters

For anyone who drives long distances in India, a clean and safe toilet stop is often the hardest part of the journey to plan. The guidelines pay specific attention to women and families stopping at night, with better lighting, CCTV covering approaches and parking, sanitary napkin vending machines and clear signs for amenities. The accessibility requirement matters for older travellers and people with disabilities, who are often left out of roadside planning.

There is an accountability layer too. A separate NHAI order earlier this month set at least weekly inspections, and allows agencies with unresolved problems at 10% or more of their toll plazas to be barred from NHAI tenders for 15 days, or until the issues are fixed. The new guidelines also require septic tanks and sewer lines to be cleaned mechanically, with manual entry banned.

What you can do

  • Install the Rajmargyatra app before your next road trip. It is the official channel for highway feedback, and facilities will carry QR codes that link to it.
  • Use the touchscreen feedback panels at toilet blocks where they appear. Agency performance is meant to be judged partly on what users report.
  • Report a dirty toilet with a clear, geo-tagged, time-stamped photo through the app. Under NHAI’s Clean Toilet Picture Challenge, a valid report has been eligible for a ₹1,000 FASTag recharge per vehicle.
  • Expect gradual change. No firm deadline for the upgrades has been published, so standards may vary from plaza to plaza for a while.

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