Gurugram deputy commissioner tells officials to crack down on people without masks

The deputy commissioner of Gurugram on Wednesday asked officials to crack down on people who continue to not wear masks in public and penalise them ₹500, as per

The deputy commissioner of Gurugram on Wednesday asked officials to crack down on people who continue to not wear masks in public and penalise them ₹500, as per the provisions of the Haryana government.

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The directions were issued in view of a rapid increase in the number of Covid-19 cases in the district, with the total reaching 2,546 cases on Wednesday. Over the last week, over 100 cases are being reported daily in the city every day.

Amit Khatri, the deputy commissioner (DC), said that officials designated to conduct checks should collect challan books from the civil surgeon of Gurugram and ensure that violators are penalised.

The Haryana government has allowed administrations to impose a fine of ₹500 on those not wearing a mask or spitting in a public place, in view of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. The penalties obtained from the violators should be deposited in government treasury under the head of ‘0210-01-800-92 other items’.

Khatri said that wearing masks in public places is mandatory due to the coronavirus pandemic. “The mask can be made of cloth or it may be bought from the market, but it is necessary for the residents to wear it while on streets, roads or other public places,” he said, adding that violators must be asked to pay the penalty, failing which the police must take action under Section 188 of the Indian Penal Code.

Officials, who have been authorised to enforce the directions, are sub-divisional magistrates in respective areas, ACPs, tehsildars, nayab tehsildars, block development officers, executive engineers of MCG, Zila Parishad, SHOs, civil surgeons, health officers and other officials designated by the deputy commissioner.

Earlier this week, Gurugram police commissioner had also asked all SHOs to regularly monitor CCTV camera footage in their areas to spot people not wearing a mask so that they can be tracked real-time and booked.