Open defecation in Maharashtra to invite Rs 500 fine now

Open defecation in Maharashtra will now invite a spot fine of Rs 500, according to rules framed by the state government.

The government has also fixed `spot fine' rates for littering, spitting and urinating in public places.

In a Government Resolution (GR) issued by the urban development department recently, the government has empowered municipal corporations and councils to levy spot fines on people and institutions under the provisions of the Solid Waste Management Act, 2016 with immediate effect.

The spot fines for A, B, C and D category of civic bodies are identical.

From now on, any person or institutions found guilty of throwing garbage, dirt or waste material on roads and highways shall have to pay spot fines ranging from Rs 150 to Rs 180, the GR said.

The word "dirt" includes all waste products.

Anyone found spitting in public places will have to pay spot fines ranging from Rs 100 to Rs 150, it said.

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Urinating in public will attract spot fines ranging from Rs 100 to Rs 200, while defecating in the open will attract a spot fine of Rs 500, the document said.

The GR said that on the lines of the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan launched by the Centre, Maharashtra, too, has its own cleanliness campaign.

On October 1, 2017, President Ram Nath Kovind had declared the entire urban Maharashtra as open defecation free.