Jamshedpur may have become Jharkhand's first city to introduce fines for urinating in public recently, but capital Ranchi has no such plans to stop its men from spraying on boundary walls or street corners whenever they wish.

On August 22, East Singhbhum district administration declared Jubilee Park a no- peeing zone in the first phase of its initiative, putting up boards that announced spot fines between Rs 500 and Rs 5,000 and cited rules under Jharkhand Municipal Act, 2011.

Though men treat open civic spaces as urinals, Jamshedpur at least has a plan to counter the offence, albeit in one park for starters.

Asked, Ranchi's civic guardians and administrative heads had no definitive answer on how to tackle the public menace.

"Jamshedpur is different from Ranchi," mayor Asha Lakra told The Telegraph when asked whether Ranchi could have a similar system of spot fines for public peeing, referring possibly to the steel city's corporate culture.

She added they would like to implement penalty for public urination in the capital but added there were too many hindrances at present.

"Honestly, the city doesn't have enough public toilets. Even many homes in the city lack toilets. Till we address this issues, it is hard to imagine imposing fines for peeing in public," she said.

Hamburg in Germany and San Francisco in the US have tried out high-tech, liquid-resistant paint that repels urine, splashing it back at the offender. But, it will probably be rocket science in Ranchi.

Currently, Ranchi has 60-65 Sulabh toilets for public use but that was hardly enough in a city with a population of 10,73,427 as per the 2011 Census.

Lakra added they were working out plans to set up community toilets in nine places for which survey was being done.

"This apart, we have got a target of building 6,000 household toilets under Clean India mission. We are inviting applications from beneficiaries after which scrutiny and other formalities will be initiated for giving funds to make toilets," she said. "Only when we do all these can we start imposing fines," she added.

Ranchi deputy commissioner Manoj Kumar said he would convene a meeting with Ranchi Municipal Corporation (RMC) officials to ponder on solutions but couldn't promise when.

"A feasibility check has to be done to implement this in Ranchi. Soon, I will convene a meeting with the RMC to introduce it (spot fines for public urination) here too. Also, I will ask my office to contact Jamshedpur to get details of how they are enforcing it there to be able to chalk out a plan here," said Kumar.

Town commissioner Prashant Kumar didn't receive calls.

But, the ongoing para-teachers' protest, where thousands are camping in and around open spaces in posh Morabadi has given everyone the message on how easy it is to turn the capital's green lungs into public toilets and trashcans.

Currently, RMC is calling out for swachchta doots (cleanliness ambassadors) in Ranchi to promote the virtues of hygiene and sanitation through community mobilisation and awareness.

Hiring doots may look good only on paper if they have no infrastructure to ensure cleanliness or power to penalise violators.

Should Ranchi also fine those urinating in public? Tell ttkhand@abpmail.com