Mumbai's civic agency BMC lifts fine for not wearing mask in private vehicles

Mumbai's civic agency, Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) on Sunday lifted the fine charged for not wearing masks inside private vehicles in the city.

The new rule came into force from Sunday afternoon. However, wearing masks is still mandatory in public transports.

“The municipal commissioner has directed to stop penalising passengers in a private car. However, this is strictly for private cars only and marshals will continue to penalise the passengers (without face masks) who are travelling in public vehicles. All marshals must be informed of this change today itself," the Times of India quoted a statement from BMC chief’s office.

BMC made wearing masks or covering the face mandatory since April 2020 due to the rising number of COVID-19 cases in Mumbai.

A total of Rs 63.39 lakh was collected as fines between April and November 28 from people not wearing masks in the K-westward area, a BMC official said. 

According to the state health department, as many as 530 new COVID-19 cases were reported in Mumbai on Sunday, taking the city's total number of cases to 3,02,753.