New Delhi, March 28 People caught urinating in public or creating a nuisance by dumping smelly waste on the streets will face a tenfold fine of ₹500 if the Jan Vishwas Bill, 2025, is passed in Parliament.
Currently, public urination attracts a fine of ₹50 under the Delhi Municipal Corporation Act, 1957.
The Jan Vishwas (Amendment of Provisions) Bill, 2026, introduced by Minister of State for Commerce and Industry Jitin Prasada in the Lok Sabha on Friday, proposes multiple amendments to the Delhi Municipal Corporation Act, 1957.
The proposed change under Section 397(1) of the Act replaces the existing fine with a higher penalty for acts such as relieving oneself in public, disturbing public peace through noise, or storing substances like night-soil, cow dung, manure, or rubbish without written permission from the Commissioner.
The amendment proposes a stricter measure for the civic body, as the penalty for running establishments such as lodging houses, eating joints, and tea shops without a license or in violation of license conditions will be increased.
The offense, which currently attracts a fine of ₹100, is set to be converted into a penalty of ₹1,000 under Section 421, signaling a stricter stance on unregulated commercial activity.
Similarly, letting a dog roam a public street without a leash, currently attracting a ₹50 fine under the Act, will cost ₹1,000.
Failures related to sanitation have also been recast. Failure to remove filth or polluted matter, which previously drew a nominal ₹50 fine, would now first invite a warning and then a penalty of ₹500 for repeat violations.
The Bill also removes several provisions entirely. The highest fine in the Act, which is ₹10,000 plus ₹500 per day for commencing building work without notice under Section 337(4), is dropped altogether.
The proposed legislation decriminalizes Section 387, under which a municipal sweeper absent without notice could be imprisoned for up to one month, and replaces it with a ₹500 civil penalty.
It, through its Section 461A, also shifts the adjudication of the bulk of violations from criminal courts to a municipal officer not below the rank of Assistant Commissioner, with a 30-day appeal window and a six-month disposal deadline.
