Mumbai: A ward tops in fines, while big offenders targeted in suburbs

Clean-up marshal at work in Mumbai. File pic

Clean-up marshals in 'A ward' - covering Fort, Colaba, and Churchgate - collected Rs 11.51 lakh in fines for littering and spitting in public places, the highest amount in the city. However, suburban marshals are collecting more by targeting bigger offenders. While the BMC sets fines up to Rs 200 for these offences, marshals in areas from Goregaon to Dahisar and Ghatkopar to Mulund have averaged R834 per fine, compared to R215 per fine in A ward.

The BMC began deploying clean-up marshals in April 2024, aiming for 30 marshals in each of the 24 wards, totalling 720. Currently, 401 marshals are appointed, with 84 in A ward, which has many tourist spots and offices. From April 2 to May 22, A ward collected R11.51 lakh from 5,351 fines, averaging R215 per fine, out of the total Rs 36.38 lakh collected citywide.

The BMC hasn't changed its fine amounts, focusing on raising public awareness rather than collecting fines. The most common penalty is R200 for littering, soiling, and spitting in public spaces. Other penalties include R1,000 for washing vehicles on roads, R500 for littering by pets, and R100 for burning garbage. Despite a slow start, some marshals are performing well, with T ward (Mulund) collecting R835 per receipt, followed by R North (Dahisar) with R744, P South (Goregaon) with R668, and R Central with Rs 505 per receipt. Even R South (Kandivli), K East (Andheri E, Jogeshwari E), and N ward (Ghatkopar) collected over R400 per receipt.

After one and a half months, the clean-up marshals are yet to fully gear up for the work they were appointed to do. With hardly one fine receipt issued by each marshal per day, the system is operating slowly. This may be due to the initial stages of deployment and the parliamentary elections. The BMC is still struggling to deploy clean-up marshals in a few wards, with five wards still lacking any marshals. Agencies from two wards have already backed out, and the procedure for another three is still ongoing.

A senior official from the Solid Waste Management Department said, "There isn't any set target for collecting fines by the BMC. That is not our lookout. Our aim is to create public awareness and to restrain people from throwing garbage, spitting, etc., in public places. The work of appointing marshals is almost completed, and the system will work in full gear by next month."

The clean-up marshals have the power to take punitive action against violators of civic laws and rules. They have faced allegations of accepting cash fines without issuing receipts, prompting the BMC to introduce a digital payment system for fine collection to ensure transparency. The option of making online payments to settle fines has also been made available to citizens.

Fines collected so far

BMC collected Rs 36,38,313 by fining 12,638 people so far, with an average of Rs 287 per receipt.

Wards with highest ‘earnings' per receipt
835 in T ward: Collected R49,300 with 59 challans
744 in R/N ward: Collected R2.29 lakh with 308 challans
668 in P south: Collected R1.35 lakh with 196 challans
505 in R central ward: Collected R4.19 lakh with 829 challans
443 in K east: Collected R2.91 lakh with 658 challans
424 in N ward: Collected R1.11 lakh with 263 challans
400 in R south: Collected R1.51 lakh with 378 challans
362 in M east: Collected R46,000 with 11 challans
215 in A ward: Collected R11.51 lakh with 5,351 challans

Current number of marshals in the city: 401
BMC decided to deploy: 720, an average of 30 in 24 wards
A ward has: 84 marshals
Wards with fewer than 10 marshals appointed: F/S, H/W, M/W, P/S, and T
Agencies backed out from: K/E and P/N wards