Anti-spitting Bill, to be submitted in Budget Session, will have provision
Anti-spitting Bill, to be submitted in Budget Session, will have provision
Months after being initially mooted, the health ministry will submit the anti-spitting Bill in the next Assembly session, which will contain the provision for mandatory ‘social service’ as punishment to offenders.
A three-member committee of Cabinet ministers headed by Dr Deepak Sawant framed the rules and regulations for the Bill which will help in its efficient implementation.
Dr Sawant had spoken in June 2015 on introducing community service for offenders in order to curb the practice and to keep the city clean and stop the spread of communicable diseases. He spoke on the proposal again on Thursday.
“We have plans to introduce a new clause in the anti-spitting Bill that would force violators to do ‘social service’ in any one hospital. For an example, if an owner of a Mercedes spits in any public place and is fined for that, he wouldn’t mind paying '1,000. This will not change the situation. But if he is asked to clean a desk, he would think twice before spitting,” said Dr Sawant.
Dr Sawant also said there are flaws in the bill and to address such issues, he has been discussing with experts and also sought public opinions on his website. “Many people recommended taking more stringent steps to stop public spitting. That’s when we thought of introducing social service in the Bill,” he said.
He made the statements at a conference organised to mark World Cancer Day, which is observed annually on February 4, at Tata Memorial Cancer Hospital on Thursday.
“The drafting of the Bill has been completed and approved by the Cabinet. In the next budget session, it will be submitted for legislation,” he said.
Commenting on it, Dr Nagsen Ramraje, TB head at JJ Hospital said, “Spitting in public places spread diseases like H1N1 virus, tuberculosis and other communicable diseases. People, especially those who chew tobacco, spit it openly. In such cases, if a person is carrying any such virus, it can get transferred to other people through spitting.”
