Top News

One of the common issues that most people face while travelling on highways in India is the lack of public toilets. Anyone who has undertaken long road trips on our highways would agree with that. Although the government has built public toilets at different locations along highways and expressways, many of them are not maintained properly. This often causes inconvenience to road users. To solve this problem, NHAI has now come up with a scheme where reporting an unclean toilet can get you a reward.

This is actually part of the Clean Toilet Picture Challenge, which was launched in September 2025. NHAI has now extended the initiative until 30th June 2027. The initiative received an enthusiastic response from National Highway users, with around 429 commuters reporting unclean toilets and being rewarded with FASTag recharges worth Rs 1,000 each in 2026 so far.

The initiative is open to all National Highway commuters. They can participate by uploading clear, geo-tagged and time-stamped photographs of unclean toilets through the latest version of the Rajmargyatra mobile app. Users are also required to provide basic details, including their name, location, vehicle registration number and mobile number, while submitting the picture.

After analysing the photographs and data, each eligible vehicle registration number reporting such an instance will receive a reward of Rs 1,000 in the form of a FASTag recharge credited to the linked VRN. Each VRN is eligible for only one reward during the entire scheme period. The reward is non-transferable and cannot be claimed in cash. In cases where multiple reports are submitted for the same facility on the same day, only the first valid submission through the Rajmargyatra app will be considered.

The scheme is exclusively applicable to toilet facilities constructed, operated or maintained under NHAI’s jurisdiction. Toilets located at retail fuel stations, dhabas or other public facilities are excluded, as they do not fall under NHAI’s jurisdiction. All entries are subject to verification through AI-assisted screening and manual validation.

This is actually a good initiative, as finding a clean toilet on long road trips can be challenging in India. Many lack cleanliness, while others are even locked by the authorities. The post has gained a lot of attention on social media, and with this scheme, NHAI aims to improve the condition of toilets on our highways.

The comment section under the post is actually a lot more interesting than the post itself. Users are seen criticising the government over poor road infrastructure.

One user wrote, “Why only unclean toilets, why not potholes, cracked highways and blind spots? Who stops you from rewarding travellers who share potholes, or is your only accountability to collect tolls in the name of infrastructure? Can you do that? It’s a challenge for you to accept.” Another user wrote, “What about roads? Will the contractor get penalised?” and so on.

While the government is offering such facilities to the public, it is also the duty of responsible citizens to ensure that they maintain them. In many parts of the country, public toilets are often vandalised by anti-social elements.