Mosquitoes in your property? South Delhi corporation may fine you up to Rs 50,000

To prevent the outbreak of vector-borne diseases this monsoon, the South Delhi Municipal Corporation (SDMC) has decided to levy a fine of upto Rs 50,000 from the owner of a property, if the workers spot stagnant water in the surroundings with mosquitoes breeding in it.

The corporation said the owner may have to shell out anywhere between Rs 500 to Rs 50,000, depending on the complete cost incurred by the agency to remove the breeding spots.

SDMC’s additional commissioner (health), Meeta Singh, said the new rule will be enforced by June. The corporation will impose a fine depending on the manpower cost, depreciation value of the machines and medicines used to remove the breeding spots. “We have proposed major rule changes this year and corporation workers will have the power to impose the fine,” she said.

A meeting of senior officials of South Corporation will be held within a week after which this rule will be give a green signal. At present, the Domestic Breeding Checkers (DBCs) do not have the power to impose any fine. They can only issue challans and the fine was decided by a magistrate, which would be anywhere between Rs 100 to Rs 500.

The corporation has estimated that if mosquito breeding is found at construction sites in residential areas, the fine will be around Rs 5,000. At bigger multi-storied construction sites of 10,000 square meters or more, violators will have to pay up to Rs 50,000, she added.

Secondly, as per the proposed rule, the fine would be corresponding to the number of areas in which the breeding has been found. For instance, if breeding was found at five places, the owner of the property will have to pay separate fines for all the spots.

Singh said the corporation tries its best to prevent the vector-borne diseases. “But we do not get enough support from all sections,” she added.

“The DBCs cannot enter the households or construction sites forcibly so it is also the duty of people to ensure that there is no breeding in their backyard. So we have decided to enforce these measures,” she said.

Breeding checkers often complain that women don’t allow them to enter and there have been cases when residents beat up breeding checkers for challaning them, said a senior official of the corporation.

In one of the worst outbreak, more than 9,000 cases of Chikunguniya and 4,431 cases of dengue were reported in Delhi till December 24, 2016.