In a bid to maintain cleanliness across Mumbai, the Municipal Corporation has decided to reintroduce the Clean-Up Marshal scheme, which was initiated earlier but had to be halted during the COVID-19 pandemic. Under this scheme, marshals will be deployed to monitor littering and enforce fines ranging from Rs. 200 to Rs. 1000 on offenders. A total of 720 clean-up marshals have been appointed across all wards of Mumbai.
Clean-up marshals in each ward
Each ward of the municipality has appointed clean-up marshals, who will initially issue warnings for the first eight to ten days, followed by online fine collection procedures. An app development project is underway for facilitating online payments.
While during the pandemic, marshals were also tasked with enforcing penalties on individuals not wearing masks, it was reported that some of them were involved in unauthorized fine collection. Upon receiving complaints, the municipality terminated their contracts. Currently, with a scarcity of clean-up marshals, the streets of Mumbai have witnessed increased littering and garbage dumping.
Revenue generated from fines
To curb pollution, offenders may face fines ranging from Rs. 5000 to Rs. 10,000 in the future. The payment can be made in cash or online. Regarding the revenue generated from fines, it has been decided that 50% will go to the contractor while the remaining 50% will be allocated to the BMC (Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation).
The process of tying up with two banks for online fine collection is in its final stages. Once completed, the clean-up marshals will commence enforcement actions this week. Previously, the BMC had planned to appoint clean-up marshals in December 2023, but due to technical difficulties, the plan couldn't be executed.
