BMC collects INR 3.5 crore as fine from people who fail to wear masks in public

Coronavirus cases in Maharashtra are now under control, and the state government, over the last few months has permitted the services and selected operations to resume across the state. People have started stepping out of their homes and several are seen in the city. To ensure their safety, the government had instructed them to wear masks as a precautionary measure against the spread of COVID-19, failing which officials were asked to take strict action against the citizens.

However, the local bodies have stated that people are not following norms, flouting the rules by not maintaining social distance or wearing masks. Over the last few weeks, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has started imposing fines and penalizing the citizens who do not wear masks. Official data released by the respective department states that fines worth INR 3.5 crore has been recovered so far from the city.

Wearing masks while in public has been made mandatory by orders issued by the Central Government and the respective State Governments. The process to take punitive action was initiated against those, from April 9, 2020. Initially, the government has set a fine of INR 1,000, however, in the current scenario, the BMC has been charging INR 200 from people for flouring the same.

Reports reveal that the highest fines have been collected from areas like Nariman Point, Colaba, Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus, Fort, Mohammad Ali Road, Bhendi Bazar, Pydhuni, Kalbadevi, Girgaon, Byculla, Mazgaon and others in BMC's 'Circle-1'. Officials have taken action against 28,292 citizens in these departments, and the corporation has also collected a fine of INR 65.56 lakhs so far.

Currently, the state is under another phase of lockdown, however, many services for the betterment of the society have resumed under the unlock and Mission Begin Again initiative. The government is taking small efforts to ensure and gradually restore public life. Keeping this in mind, the BMC is taking action at various levels to get control over the spread of coronavirus.

Meanwhile, Municipal Commissioner Iqbal Singh Chahal had earlier directed the teams to intensify the action while creating awareness about the mask. Under this program all the offices, establishments, malls, societies, auditoriums, etc. in the BMC areas followed the 'no mask, no access' campaign; and the locations were instructed to put up a sign which read the same. Besides, stickers have been posted on buses, taxis and rickshaws, and at present, this campaign is being implemented everywhere in the state.