In an attempt to free city streets from encroachment and traffic congestion, the Ghaziabad development authority has prepared a six-point list of rules and penalties to be enforced immediately.
The list of orders include penalties for encroachment on city streets along with wrong parking, improper disposal of building materials, display of illegal hoardings and usage of polythene.
1. Vendors setting up stalls, kiosks, etc. on main roads will be penalised with an amount ranging from one thousand five hundred to two thousand rupees. Although the first time penalty would be one thousand five rupees, repeated mistakes will witness a penalty of two thousand rupees. Ghaziabad News
2. Vehicles parked on main roads will be lifted by the traffic police and the penalty along with the crane charges will be recovered from the vehicle owner. Vehicles parked in front of malls and commercial complexes, stalls and juice shops will draw a penalty of rupees ten thousand to rupees fifty thousand.
3. Similar penalties will be applied on shops which occupy space in front of other shops to store or display products. Moreover, the products of such shops will also be seized.
4. Illegal hoardings and banners will draw a fine of five thousand rupees. After the first two warnings, a daily fine of five hundred rupees will be levied.
5. Dumping of building materials and rubble in the open will draw a fine from rupees ten thousand to rupees fifty thousand. The fines will be decided based on the dumping area.
6. Selling or using polythene carry bags will draw a fine ranging from one thousand rupees to five thousand rupees.
Such regulations were already in place for areas under the jurisdiction of the Ghaziabad Municipal Corporation. However, areas like Indirapuram, Raj Nagar Extension, Koel Enclave, etc which are maintained by the GDA and are yet to be handed over to the municipal corporation, did not have such rules. The rules will now be enforced in these areas by GDA officials.
However, these guidelines were taken with a pinch of salt by residents. The residents said that if applied to the truest sense, these rules will actually change the face of these areas.
“It is good that the GDA has come up with strict penalties. People here do not want to follow rules. Strict penalties will instil some sense into people. The city streets and footpaths are riddled with encroachment and wrong parking. Residents have been complaining about these issues for a long time,” said Alok Kumar, President of Federation of Apartment Owners Association of Ghaziabad and an Indirapuram resident.
GDA officials said that these rules have been applied with immediate effect.
