In a sweeping overhaul of municipal laws, the Centre has introduced more than 20 changes to the Delhi Municipal Corporation Act, 1957, replacing minor criminal provisions with monetary penalties and removing several outdated offences in the Jan Vishwas (Amendment of Provisions) Bill, 2026, which was passed by Parliament on Thursday.
The amendments largely do away with low-value fines and imprisonment for minor violations, and introduce graded penalties and warnings aimed at improving compliance without criminalising everyday civic lapses.
Among the key changes, which signal a shift towards a more facilitative civic framework, more than 10 provisions that earlier attracted fines have now been converted into penalties, often with higher amounts.
For instance, people caught urinating in public or creating a nuisance by dumping stinking waste on the streets will attract a tenfold fine of Rs 500. Failure to remove filth, which earlier invited a fine of just Rs 50, will now draw a warning for the first offence and a Rs 500 penalty for repeat violations.
Similarly, activities such as unauthorised hawking, running eateries without licences or obstructing municipal officials will now attract steeper penalties, going up to Rs 1,000 in some cases.
Further, civic behaviours that directly affect public hygiene, such as tethering cattle on streets, dumping waste or causing public nuisance, have also been brought under stricter penalty regimes.
In a notable move, imprisonment provisions have been removed in two instances. A controversial clause that allowed jail time for municipal sweepers quitting without notice or neglecting duties has been scrapped.
Additionally, violations of municipal bylaws will no longer lead to imprisonment, with penalties replacing both jail terms and fines.
The amendments also eliminate fines in 11 provisions, effectively decriminalising several minor or outdated offences. These include penalties for washing clothes at unauthorised places, failure to report vacant properties or extinguishing street lights, rules that officials say had little relevance in modern urban governance or were rarely enforced.
Officials indicated that the changes are aimed at reducing the burden on courts and enforcement agencies while encouraging voluntary compliance.
For residents and small vendors, the shift could mean fewer legal hassles but stricter financial consequences for repeat violations. For municipal authorities, it is expected to streamline enforcement and improve accountability in areas such as sanitation, licensing and public health.
The reforms are part of a broader push to decriminalise minor offences across sectors and make regulatory frameworks more citizen-friendly while retaining deterrence through monetary penalties.
