Bengaluru: Marshals deployed by the BBMP to penalise people dumping garbage illegally in public spaces , open areas, drains and playgrounds, will soon be equipped with receipt issuing machines to give offenders receipts for their penalties.
The BBMP has hired ex-army personnel as marshals to keep a check on illegal dumping in public spaces. The force, being deployed in different areas, works in two shifts, from 8 pm to 1 pm and 5 am to 8 pm. They catch offenders and slap fine amounts specified by the BBMP. If needed, they will also report violations to jurisdictional police stations, where FIRs will be registered against offenders. Around 233 marshals have already penalised over 2,600 people.
A senior BBMP official said, “Till now, the marshals used to give handwritten receipts to offenders. But now, we want to give them an electronic machine, which is similar to the ones used by BMTC bus conductors to issue tickets. These machines will produce penalty receipts and also allow marshals to click photographs of offenders, which can be stored in a database and checked for repeat offences. This will also help in filing FIRs.”
Soon, tenders will be floated to acquire these machines, the officer said. “We are planning to purchase 433 machines. Of them, 233 will be for marshals and 200 for health inspectors. These machines will also alert marshals if the offenders had been penalised earlier. Those dumping garbage for the first time will be penalised '100 and second time '500. Similarly, people dumping construction debris will be penalised '5,000 the first time and '25,000 the second time. Repeat offenders will be booked by the police,” he said.
