Delhi air pollution violators fined ₹1.6cr in Nov, but collections lag

Delhi's Municipal Corporation fined ₹1.58 crore for air pollution and sanitation violations in November, but collected only ₹28.2 lakh.

The Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) issued cumulative fines worth ₹1.58 crore for violation of air pollution and sanitation norms during November, but has only received ₹28.2 lakh from the violators, as per data by the corporation.

Delhi air pollution violators fined ₹1.6cr in Nov, but collections lag

According to the data, fines worth ₹1.27 crore were issued for air pollution violations and ₹31.3 lakh for not following sanitation norms in the city in the month of November. The corporation, however, was only paid ₹2 lakh and ₹26.2 lakh, respectively.

“These are court-ordered fines, so usually at the end of the month, there is a gap between the amount imposed and the amount realised. People take time to pay the amount they have been fined,” said an MCD official.

The issue was raised in the corporation’s last standing committee meeting by councillor Jagmohan Mehlawat. “This has been an issue for a long time, as the fines are cut. Many of these remain unpaid. The main issue is that people have to go to courts and pay these penalties, which means we cannot enforce them. Instead, fines should come under jurisdiction of the municipal magistrates. So we would have the authority to further enforce the fines,” Mehlawat complained, adding that he is working on a proposal for the same and will present it in the next standing committee.

According to the data, the corporation imposed a total of 1,228 fines for violation of air pollution norms during November, the highest (260) being from the central zone.