Pay ₹2,500 for not wearing mask in public in Gurugram
GURUGRAM: People not wearing masks in public areas are now liable to be fined up to ₹2,500, according to the new revised Municipal Corporation of Gurugram (MCG) rules that were released on Friday. The fine amount till now was ₹500.
MCG officials, during a twoday drive, on Monday and Tuesday, had found more than 3,000 people violating the rule, requiring the compulsory wearing of masks in public.
Till August 1, more than 18,000 people had been fined for mask violations by officials by the civic body, which has realised a fine amount of ₹90 lakh, MCG officials said.
Besides the MCG, till July 25, Gurugram police had also fined 13,000 people for mask violations and recovered ₹64 lakh in penalties.
Officials said that through the drive they realised that violations were rampant and a higher fine amount was needed as a deterrent.
During the drive, which was carried out on the directions of Haryana government, MCG did not fine a single violator.
Instead they just apprised the violators of the rules and the importance of wearing a mask in limiting the spread of Covid-19.
Bijendra Sharma, senior sanitary inspector, MCG said that depending on the laxity of the violator, he or she will be fined a minimum of ₹1,000 and a maximum of ₹2,500.
‘₹500 WAS TOO SMALL A PENALTY’
“Our main objective right from the start has been to implement and introduce various measures that can help in limiting the spread of Covid-19. We realised that ₹500 was too small a penalty amount for some, and wasn’t necessarily causing a deterrence in people . Hence, we have hiked the penalty amount significantly, with the hope that people realise the importance in wearing of masks during these crucial times,” said Vinay Pratap Singh, commissioner, MCG.
In May, MCG had started fining people ₹500 per violation for not wearing masks in public places.
Since mid-july, MCG officials also started handing over five cotton masks to every violator at the time of issuing a fine. Officials said the practice will continue along with the revised penalty rates.
At MCG’S Sector 42 central store, where all Covid-related items are stored, the civic body has a stock of over 153,000 masks, including 30,000 cloth masks, as of August 8.