New responsibilities for clean-up marshals as they take aim at parking violations, adding to efforts to spruce up the city
A clean-up marshal fining people without a face mask. Pic/Sayyed Sameer Abedi
Marshals are back, this time with added responsibility. In a recent review meeting, Municipal Commissioner I S Chahal announced an expansion of the duties of marshals involved in Mumbai’s ongoing deep cleaning campaign. These marshals, already responsible for penalising offences like spitting, littering, improper waste disposal, and not picking up pet waste, will now also be tasked with preventing illegal parking on city roads.
“Parking vehicles outside designated areas not only causes traffic congestion but also inconveniences pedestrians and hinders waste collection,” Chahal said. “Following Chief Minister Eknath Shinde’s instructions, we are appointing marshals at the ward level to address this issue.”
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The ‘Deep Cleaning’ campaign was launched by CM Eknath Shinde on December 3, 2023, from Dharavi in F North ward and Malabar Hill in D ward. The process of appointing these marshals is underway, with a planned deployment of 720 individuals across Mumbai’s 24 wards, based on their size and population. However, marshals will not be authorised to impose fines for illegal parking violations.
Inquiring about the fine amount for illegal parking, Sudhakar Shinde, additional commissioner, said, “We will support the concerned authorities in regulating the parking issue.” “Penalising illegal parking is not within the scope of the clean-up marshals,” said an official. During the pandemic, the marshals collected over Rs 92 crore in fines by 2022.
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