Mumbai: Clean-up marshals promoted to three more wards

Clean-up marshals issue instant receipts for the fines collected from citizens

After the revival of clean-up marshals with their re-introduction in A ward, their services have been extended by the BMC in C, G and E wards of Mumbai. The clean-up marshals have collected Rs 1.12 lakh in fines from citizens till now. Compared to previous stint of the clean-up marshals, this collection is considered less as the marshals and the citizens grapple with the digital system to collect the fines. BMC resorted to digital mode of fine collection in the hope of keeping the process transparent and thus avoid allegations of corruption.

The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation re-introduced the marshals on April 2 after two years of gap. There are 700 marshals, an average of 30 per ward, already deployed. The clean-up marshals have power to take punitive action against violators of civic laws and rules. The marshals are responsible for collecting fines from individuals for various civic offences that are broadly categorised as nuisance, such as spitting, littering, waste dumping and not picking up pets' waste. Fines range from Rs 100 to Rs 1,000.

The revival of the clean-up marshal project was made with a pilot project in A ward comprising areas such as Nariman Point, Colaba, Churchgate, and the Fort area. Now it has been extended to C ward comprising Girgaon and G south which includes areas of Parel and Mahalaxmi. From Thursday marshals were deployed in the E ward which has areas of Byculla. The marshals collected Rs 69,713 in A Ward, Rs 9,200 in C ward and Rs 23,200 in G south ward till Wednesday. The agencies deployed at ward level have to deposit 50 per cent of the fine amount collected with the BMC.

"It will take time for the system to settle and sort out any issues faced in the field. The marshals will start working in all 24 wards within a month," said an official from the BMC. The Information Technology department of the corporation has developed a mobile app, and the training workshop for marshals was conducted on March 26. The receipt received by the citizens will have the symbol of the BMC and the receipt number. Besides the name of the municipal department, the receipt will have the date, time, longitude and latitude of the place where the action was taken. BMC hopes doing so will not give any room for manipulation in the receipt.

Clean-up marshals 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. Now the BMC has given Bluetooth-connected handheld printers to marshals who will give printed receipts through a mobile app instead of handwritten receipts. The option of making online payment to settle the fine has also been made available to the citizens.

Fines collected by Clean-up marshals

A ward 69,713
C ward 19,200
G South ward 23,200
Total 1,12,113