Now, a grand fine awaits honkers

MUMBAI: If the Maharashtra government has its way, motorists may not be able to get off by paying a paltry Rs 100 as fine if they are caught honking on the streets of Mumbai.

In a bid to tackle noise pollution, the state is proposing a tenfold hike in fines for honking. The revelation came in an affidavit filed by Anna Dani, principal secretary (home) in the Bombay high court, in response to a public interest litigation filed by NGO Awaaz Foundation.

According to the existing provisions of the Motor Vehicles Act, a fine of Rs 100 can be imposed for honking. "This is very little as punishment,'' said the transport department in a meeting held by chief secretary Johny Joseph of various government departments recently.

The department has now proposed an amendment to Section 190 of the Act so that the fine can be hiked to Rs 1,000 for the first offence and for Rs 2,000 for subsequent offences. "Since the law is a Central legislation, a request has been made to the government of India for considering the amendment,'' said the affidavit.

Activists have welcomed the proposal. "It will hopefully act as a deterrent law against unnecessary honking,'' said Sumaira Abdulali, founder of Awaaz. "But, this may not be enough on its own as the government has to also confiscate illegal horns,'' she added.

As per existing law, motorists are barred from installing horns with over 85 decibels. This is, however, followed more in violation say activists, with decibel levels of horns touching between 95 dB and 100 dB on Mumbai's congested streets. Multi-tonal horns and pressure horns are also banned under the rules.

According to figures furnished to the court, between January and July 2008, the traffic police booked 33,958 vehicle owners for unnecessary honking or installing illegal horns and collected fines to the tune of Rs 26.84 lakh.

In a bid to tackle the noise menace, the government informed the court that it has decided to adopt a multi-pronged approach by departments that will be responsible for taking steps to control noise pollution.

The noise created by vehicles would be dealt by the traffic police, while planning authorities like the MMRDA, MSRDC, BMC and the state urban development department would be responsible for tackling noise pollution when implementing different infrastructure projects in the city. The agencies will also be responsible for implementing a noise mapping plan for the city, especially in connection with various projects including the Bandra-Worli sealink, Worli-Haji Ali sealink and the Sewri-Nhava Sheva sealink. The environment department and the Maharashtra Pollution Control Board would look into the effects of noise pollution on health. The home department of the state government will be responsible for dealing with the problem of noise created by loudspeakers at places of worship.

The BMC has also promised to crack down on noise polluters by erecting silence zone boards and equipping its nuisance detecting squads with decibel meters. A division bench of Chief Justice Swatanter Kumar and Justice A P Deshpande on Thursday directed the departments concerned to file affidavits submitting their say on the proposals as well as steps they propose to take against noise pollution.