200k prosecuted, most fines pending

Nearly 200,000 people were prosecuted during the lockdown between April 19 and May 25 in Delhi for not following Covid-19 appropriate behaviour, of which 171,154 (86.6%) were fined for either not using a mask or wearing it incorrectly, shows data accessed by HT. Reports further showed that enforcement agencies in the city have been unable to recover at least 86% of the fines imposed against these challans during the said period.

In Delhi, the district administrations, the Delhi Police and the municipal corporations (MCDS) are the agencies responsible for enforcing lockdowns and ensuring Covid appropriate behaviour among citizens. Data showed that between April 19 and May 25, the Delhi Police issued 97,374 challans, the district magistrates (DMS) and their teams issued 93,723 challans and the MCDS prosecuted 6,480 people.

But, data of the fines collected by the district administrations and the MCDS show that of the total fines worth Rs 17.18 crore imposed on violators, only Rs 2.54 crore has been recovered for the said period.

Isha Khosla, DM (north) said the reason why enforcement agencies have not been able to recover the fines is because a majority of the voters do not have cash with them when they are caught.