The Capitals municipal corporations have had enough of Delhiites spitting, urinating in public and littering public places and has come up with a solution that will hit them where it hurts the most - their pockets. And assisting the South Delhi Municipal Corporation (SDMC) in their endeavour will be private players who will show no mercy. The south civic body has already begun the process to rope in a private agency which will send its men after those who treat public places as toilets and dustbins. Besides, the citys three civic bodies would soon be armed with amended and stricter sanitation by-laws. Explaining how the process will work, South Municipal Commissioner Maneesh Gupta said, We will hire private contractors for on-the-spot punishment for littering, urinating and other violations. The process will be similar to the ones applied for operating parking lots in the city. Private parties will deposit a fixed sum of money with the SDMC and the civic body will issue a challan book of the same amount. This will make it binding upon the private agency to ensure stricter implementation of the laws. Civic body officials said separate agencies will be hired for each of the four administrative zones for better management. Gupta added that such an arrangement already exists in Mumbai where it has been largely successful. And if the concessionaire fails to meet the target, the SDMC will forfeit the amount deposited by them. Under the tie-up, private agencies will deploy their men at strategic locations like markets, tourist spots and surrounding bus stops and railway stations to catch violators. The commissioner said violators will be fined on-the-spot but in case anyone refuses to pay a court challan will be issued. For this, special municipal magistrates will be appointed to deal with such cases. The existing fine of Rs.50 or Rs.100 has failed to deter the habitual violators. In order to achieve 100 per cent results and make the Swachch Bharat Mission a success, it is imperative to enhance and recover the penalty, said South Delhi Mayor Khushi Ram Chunar. We have directed setting up of special municipal courts to be presided by magistrates to deal with sanitation-related issues and have allocated Rs.5 crore for setting up of municipal courts in each of the 104 wards under the South corporation, he added. Sources said the East and North Delhi municipal corporations were also keen to follow the same. As per the proposal for amendment in the by-laws, the minimum penalty for spitting would be Rs.500. It is currently a meagre Rs.50. The maximum penalty, on the other hand, is proposed as Rs.10,000 for bigger and commercial institutions. Sources said people would end up paying at least Rs.1,000 if caught urinating in open. Similarly, the fine for littering would vary between Rs.500 to Rs.1,000. Mail Today had earlier reported that the South Delhi Municipal Corporation plans to impose waste collection charge on bulk generators as well as households at a later stage. The proposed amendment in sanitation also proposes penalty for non-segregation of dry and wet waste by bulk generators like hospitals, hotels and restaurants.
Posted on: Tue, 07 Oct 2014 07:56:05 +0000
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