CR to soon appoint clean up marshals to fine passengers for spitting, littering

The Central Railway in Mumbai is set to appoint clean-up marshals to fine passengers who spit and litter on trains and railway stations. The marshals will be appointed by private contractors, and will initially be stationed at important stations that require attention. The fine amount is yet to be decided, but will be in accordance with the law. There are concerns about the possibility of corruption, but the railway officials are confident that measures will be put in place to prevent such issues.

Mumbai: In an effort to keep local trains and railway stations clean and bring in discipline in passengers who spit and litter, the Central Railway (CR), for the first time, is set to appoint clean-up marshals who will fine the violators. This will be on the lines of what the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) had appointed in the past.

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On September 11, the CR authorities confirmed that they have had discussions and are finalising dates for expression of interest from private contractors who will appoint these clean-up marshals.

“We shall be initially setting up these clean up marshals at important stations like Kalyan, Thane, Kurla, Lokmanya Tilak Terminus which needs attention as far as cleanliness is concerned. It will take two to three months for us to finalise the contractor and set up these clean up marshals,” said a senior CR official.

The CR authorities are still working out the modalities of this wherein a private clean up marshal will be expected to identify someone who has made the rail premises unclean.

The fine amount is yet to be decided but the railway officials said that it will be as per law.

Usually, the station master gets an amount allocated to them for maintaining cleanliness at station premises. The railways also spend money on cleaning the local trains at their yards and carsheds periodically.

When asked if this could also lead to corruption then the officials agreed that they too see the possibility of it where a commuter might try to bribe the clean up marshal or even a dishonest clean up marshal might try to extort money. “Our contract will encompass as many issues as possible to eliminate these problems. It is a known fact that people do complain about such issues even with the railway staff which is then strongly dealt with,” said another rail official.

“It is wonderful that the railways are talking about maintaining cleanliness on tracks. However, there were complaints in the past about the notoriety of these clean up marshals who were appointed earlier on Mumbai roads,” said Subhash Gupta, president, Rail Yatri Sangh. In the past the ticket checking staff and station master office were allowed to collect ₹500 as fines under various sections of Railway Act for spitting, spilling or littering on rail premises. Recently there was a video that went viral where a commuter threw a packet of gutka inside an AC local that evinced strong reactions from the public on social media.