Chandigarh MC mulls overhaul of ad tender norms to unlock revenue from public toilets

The Chandigarh Municipal Corporation (MC) is now rethinking its strategy to monetize advertisements on over 340 public toilets across the city after three rounds of tendering with no takers. As per the media reports, the civic body, which had hoped to generate over Rs 6 crore annually through the initiative, is now considering breaking the tender into smaller clusters to widen participation and attract more bidders.

So far, the MC’s insistence on awarding the rights to a single firm, under rigid eligibility norms geared towards large players, has resulted in zero bids. According to officials, this one-size-fits-all approach has effectively shut out smaller firms and local agencies that might otherwise be interested.

In a bid to reverse the dry run, MC is likely to amend the tender structure by dividing the project into multiple packages, with each covering a specific number of toilets. This modular approach could make the opportunity more accessible to a wider pool of advertisers and agencies. Once the revised proposal is cleared internally, the tender will be floated again.

The initiative was first approved in the House meeting in February 2025 as part of a broader plan to tap into new revenue streams amid the MC’s ongoing financial stress.

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Congress councillor Gurpreet Singh welcomed the rethink, saying the original tender left “little room for competition” and failed to consider smaller players. “If the MC truly wants to earn revenue, it must make the process more inclusive and competitive,” he added.

Municipal Commissioner Amit Kumar said that the tender process is under review.

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