Fines for mosquito breeding likely to go up by 100 times
NEW DELHI: Municipal corporations in Delhi have proposed a 100 times hike in the fine levied on people who allow mosquito breeding on their premises as the Capital logged 9,613 dengue cases and 23 fatalities in 2021 -the second worst annual outbreak on record.
Currently, people on whose premises mosquito larvae are found have to pay a fine of ₹500. The civic bodies propose to increase it to up to ₹50,000. Since the proposal includes the amendment of Delhi Municipal Corporation Act, it has been sent to the Delhi government, officials aware of the matter said.
“Currently, we are empowered to issues fines up to ₹500, but after the directions by the Delhi high court to levy higher penalties, we have proposed to the Delhi government to amend section 482 of the DMC Act, making the maximum fine up to ₹50,000. The public health official will also be empowered to determine the quantum of the fine on case to case basis,” a senior official associated with the matter said.
The section 482 of the DMC Act deals with the penalties for breaches of municipal bye-laws. The section says: “Any bye-law made under this Act may provide that a contravention shall be punishable with a fine which may be extend to ₹500, and in case of a continuing contravention an additional fine which may extend to Rs20 for every day after the receipt of a notice from the commissioner or the authorized municipal officer.”
A second official explained that the limit of ₹500 was fixed in 1957, and the fine has little deterrent value now. In many cases, the magistrates also waive off ₹500 fines, he said.
On December 24 last year, during a hearing on a petition initiated by the court over the mosquito menace in the city, the Delhi high court ordered all civic bodies to constitute a task force headed by their commissioners to take steps to prevent the city from “being infested by mosquitoes”.
Commenting on the paltry penalty amount, the court said, “Looking at the laid back attitude of people, you need more teeth. Your fine amount is only ₹500.”
A third public health official said that the file containing the proposal was sent by the additional commissioner, South Delhi Municipal Corporation (SDMC) to the Delhi government on January 10, 2022.
“MCD is governed by an Act of Parliament. The proposal will have to go through the state government and the lieutenant governor to the central government, but since the court has already ordered an increase in the fine amount, we expect the proposal to be cleared soon,” the official said.
According to the municipal corporations’ vector borne disease report, mosquito breeding was found in more than 196,000 premises last year. In 2020, three corporations found 109,447 positive breeding cases, 179,972 cases in 2019 and 234,535 cases in 2018. The report showed that the three corporations issued a total of 150,683 legal notices in 2021, over “negligence leading to mosquito breeding”.
Last year, an analysis of the 32 mosquito breeding hot spots showed that 58.5% Aedes Aegyti larvae were found in water storage units such as drums, bucket, jerry cans, etc; 30.2% in peri-domestic units, money plant vase, flower pots, bird pots;,5.4% in overhead tanks, 2.1% in sumps, 3.8% in desert coolers.
On the orders of the high court, the five local bodies (including the Cantt Board and the New Delhi Municipal Council) have formed special task forces which will deal with future outbreaks. “A joint protocol will be formed and inputs from Delhi government departments are being taken. Each STF will follow this protocol,” the third official said.
THE DELHI HIGH COURT HAD ASKED THE CIVIC BODIES TO FORM A TASK FORCE AND INCREASE THE ‘PALTRY’ FINE