Mumbai: Spitting at public places has now become an offence, as the State government has decided to fine citizens for spitting and littering at public places across cities in the State.
For big cities such as Mumbai and Pune, the fine for spitting has been fixed at Rs 150, for littering at Rs 180, for urinating at Rs 200, and Rs 500 for open defecation.
The government has categorised the cities in A-B and C-D categories. For smaller cities (C and D categories), the penalty for spitting and urinating will be Rs 100 and Rs 150 respectively. The government has directed all the municipal corporations and councils to charge spot fines from citizens if they are found guilty of any of these violations.
The initiative is being spread across the State, as a part of the Swachh Maharashtra drive in which open defecation has already been curbed to a large extent by penalising people for violations. “The implementation of the norms was not being done by the corporations and councils properly, as there were no rules and the councils were not equipped to fine citizens.
Now, the government has issued a Government Resolution (GR) and delegated the powers to the civic bodies,” said an officer from the Urban Development Department.
“Most urban local bodies are not framing their own bylaws in given time for implementation of Swaccha Maharashtra Abhiyan, so the government finally delegated the powers and authorised the civic bodies for spot fine,” said the officer.
In Mumbai, the cleanliness rules are already there and the civic body is following the same initiative for the past few years against spitting at public places by deploying clean-up marshals at various places.
Manisha Mhaiskar, Principal Secretary, Urban Development Department (UDD), said that though the government had asked the civic bodies to levy fines, it is an initiative to change the mindset of the citizens and not generate revenue. “It is a part of implementation of Swachh Maharashtra Abhiyan, being run as part of Centre’s Swachh Bharat Abhiyan,” added Manisha Mhaiskar.
Fines APPLICABLE in Pune
Offence Fine
Spitting in public place `100
Littering on roads ( Public place) `180
Urinating in open place `200
Open defecation `500
