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Spitting on roads and littering in public places will attract fines in West Bengal from September 1,, as the BJP government steps up efforts to keep cities clean, with urban development and municipal affairs minister Agnimitra Pal insisting that the move is aimed at changing public behaviour rather than filling government coffers.
Under the new enforcement drive, a person caught spitting in public will be fined Rs 100, while dumping garbage or spreading filth in public places will attract a Rs 200 penalty. Open defecation or urination in public will also invite a Rs 200 fine, while use of single-use plastic carry bags below 125 microns will similarly attract a penalty of Rs 200.
The government initiative comes against the backdrop of existing legal provisions against littering and public spitting, which, officials and civic authorities have often struggled to enforce effectively.
Pal said the fines were deliberately kept nominal and should not be viewed as a revenue-generation exercise. “Rather than imposing strictness to collect money through fines, our objective is to make people aware. We do not intend to take money from people by imposing fines,” she told reporters as reported by PTI .
“We want Kolkata and other cities of our state to become beautiful,” she said.
The minister acknowledged that penalties alone cannot make cities cleaner and said a change in public attitude was essential. “It is not possible for the government alone to keep a city clean. Unless it comes from people’s hearts, this cannot be achieved by a whip, a stick or fines,” Pal said.
She urged people to develop a sense of ownership towards the places where they live. “People have to feel that this city also belongs to them,” she said, adding that the department’s goal was to create precisely that sentiment. Pal said awareness could not be generated through a handful of campaigns every year.
“Ten programmes in a year will not bring awareness. The feeling has to come that this is my city, this is my state, and I will not make it dirty. That is what we want. We hope to see a difference over the next year,” she said.
Making a direct appeal to commuters, she said, “Before opening the car window and throwing out a packet, before spitting from a bus, please think once.”
