Cops confused about smoking law, pass buck to civic body

Almost 9 years after the government of India had banned smoking in public places in Mumbai, its implementation in the city is still shrouded in confusion as the city police are unable to decide their role in enforcing the law and are passing the buck to civic body to enforce the law. An RTI query filed by DNA has revealed that Juhu police, has not collected even a single penny by fining offenders smoking in public places till now and have said that the work of collecting fine from offenders is done by the Municipal Corporation.

DNA had filed an RTI application with Mumbai police seeking the details of fine imposed, cases registered and complaints received by the police for smoking in public places. As per the replies received by DNA till now, two police stations in Mumbai have taken action against the offenders by collecting the fine of Rs 200 and registering the cases against violators under The Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products Act (COTPA), 2003. However, the Juhu police have replied to the query saying, "the record of crime till 2013 is not available with them and in the period of 2015 to 2017, no action has been taken related to smoking in public places, adding that these cases action is taken by the Municipal Corporation."