No handwash, no cleaning loos daily & other bizarre IIT Bombay budget cut rules

The Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Bombay has tightened its purse strings, a measure that has resulted in a slew of maintenance cuts that may adversely affect the cleanliness of the campus.

IIT Bombay's new cleaning and maintenance contract categorically states that hostels will no longer be provided with handwash. Hostel rooms and toilets will now be cleaned just once a month, down from once a week. The cleaning of hostel rooms and toilets currently takes place in two shifts, a morning shift and an evening shift. Under the new contract, the second shift will be done away with. The process of swabbing corridors, dining halls, foyers, floors, staircases and TV rooms will also become a bi-monthly affair.

By doing so, the institute is expected to save over Rs 60,000 in handwash supplies, Rs 1,56,599 in terms of cleaning hostel rooms, Rs 14,881 in terms of cleaning of toilets, bathrooms, urinals and washbasins, Rs 33,484 for hard cleaning of toilet blocks and Rs 72,504 for floors, staircases, corridors, foyers, dining hall, TV rooms.

"Why should the government pay for cleaning of students' rooms, when they can very well do it themselves? The changes, while are cutting costs, have been made to incorporate cleanliness habits in students," Soumyo Mukherji, dean of student affairs at IIT Bombay told Hindustan Times.

The dean said that most changes were made keeping in mind the Swachch Bharat Abhiyaan. He said that since most students did not avail of the room cleaning facility, thereby resulting in additional costs and a waste of manpower.