Trichy Corporation earns Rs 2.24 lakh through spot fine system

Almost six months after spot fine collection through Android application was launched here to ensure better adherence to solid waste management (SWM) practices, the Trichy Corporation has netted a sum of Rs 2.24 lakh as penalty.
Sanitary officials of the civic body were provided mobile point of sales (MPOS) machines to levy spot fines ranging between Rs 10 and Rs 9.90 lakh for various offences under the Solid Waste Management Rules, 2016.
Spot fine collection system was introduced in the city in October last year with the objective of penalising those polluting the city and bringing transparency in the penalising process.
Subsequently, MPOS machines which could be paired with Android mobile phones were provided to sanitary officials in all four zones to levy and collect spot penalty. A total of 11 offences including burning of plastic waste, nurturing dengue source, dumping of garbage on streets, open urination, and dumping debris at public spots were penalised through the MPOS that accepted both chip-enabled and chip-less debit and credit cards besides cash.


Almost six months after the MPOS system was introduced, corporation sources said that a total of Rs 2.24 lakh was collected as penalty across the city.
“After introducing spot fine system with MPOS, abandoning debris on vacant plots has come down drastically. Though residents segregate the waste at source, commercial establishments, particularly tea stalls, were reluctant to obey SWM rules. Such outlets were among the most to be penalised,” a sanitary official with Trichy Corporation said.

On an average, Rs 500 was collected by the sanitary officers every day through MPOS.
Around 100 such MPOS machines have been given to sanitary officials and junior engineers across 65 wards for the purpose. Every day, the total sum collected as penalty from all the zones would be generated as e-receipt which senior officials would receive as a text message. Civic body officials said that spot penalty would be intensified at ‘hotspots’ where segregation of waste appeared to be slack. In October last year, the Trichy Corporation was touted as the first in the state to introduce MPOS for spot fine collection.

Source