In a major move to curb the further spread of Covid-19 infection in Delhi, CM Arvind Kejriwal has announced the spike in the fine for violating the Covid-19 protocols in public.
Those who would not be seen wearing the face masks will now have to pay Rs 2,000 as a fine.
Earlier, Rs 500 was fixed as a penalty.
Kejriwal made the announcement on Thursday during a press conference held after an all-party meet at the Delhi secretariat over the issue to control the pandemic.
Kejriwal said Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal also gave his nod for imposing a stiff Rs 2,000 fine against those moving without masks publicly.
"I met the Delhi LG earlier in the day and we have decided to impose Rs 2,000 fine for not wearing masks at a public place," Kejriwal said.
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The decision came within an hour of the Delhi High Court rapping the Delhi government after being informed that only five persons had been arrested for violating Covid norms in a period of 30 days even as the cases were shooting up. "The South and West districts are the worst-hit, but the fines imposed in these areas are proportionately very small," the court observes.
Delhi in the last 24 hours has reported 7,486 cases with 131 people succumbing to the infection. Now, the Covid tally has breached the mark of 5 lakh.