Mumbai: Clean-up marshals to get handheld receipt-printing devices

Clean-up marshals take action against pedestrians in Colaba on March 29, 2020. File pic

In light of complaints about harassment and fraud perpetuated by clean-up marshals, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) is not ready to deploy them without a digital payment and receipt system. Instead of making use of bill books, they will offer offenders options such as paying fines online. The marshals will have handheld machines to print receipts that will have information such as name, mobile number, ward, GPS location, date and time along with the fine amount.

Though the procedure of appointing marshals' agencies and police verification has already started at the ward level, they haven't been deployed to public spaces as a few glitches in the digital system are yet to be ironed out. The BMC is almost ready with the software and the final presentation will be held next week.

Clean-up marshals have faced allegations of taking cash fines without issuing receipts; the BMC then came up with a digital payments system for fine collection to ensure transparency. "There were complaints about corruption. So from now onwards, there won't be any bill books. The marshals will carry a handheld printer with them. People can pay fines online and they can get receipts on their phones if they want. There is also an option for cash payment and paper bill receipts that will have many points of information," said a civic official.

"There will be fewer chances to fake bill books. It is now up to the people not to throw garbage or spit in public. The fine has also not increased over the years as our aim is not to collect money but to discipline pedestrians," said an official.

‘Software almost ready'

Even after starting the process of appointing agencies a year and a half ago and the selection of agencies at the ward level took place in October, the BMC hasn't been deploying the marshals because of software issues. "The software is almost ready but there are some issues which need final touches before launching it for public use," said Sudhakar Shinde, additional commissioner of the BMC.

Extortion allegations

Amid the extortion allegations, the BMC did not renew the contract for marshals, which ended in 2022. "Many citizens had complained of harassment and fraud by clean-up marshals while collecting fines. So this time we do not want to take any risks and the system should be foolproof," said another official from the Solid Waste Management department.

The marshals are responsible for penalising individuals for various offences, ranging from spitting and littering to waste dumping and not picking up pets' waste. Fines range between Rs 100 and Rs 1,000. Alongside this, the BMC aims to address concerns over air quality by having marshals monitor the dumping of debris in public areas and the burning of waste, both significant contributors to air pollution.

Rs 100
Min. fine amount imposed by marshals