Residents and small-scale enterprises in Delhi may soon face higher monetary penalties for civic violations under the Jan Vishwas (Amendment of Provisions) Bill, 2026. The amendments cover the Delhi Municipal Corporation (DMC) Act, 1957, and the New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) Act, 1994.
The proposed changes replace lower fines with higher penalties and remove imprisonment for minor infractions. For instance, failure to remove filth will attract a warning for the first violation and ₹500 thereafter. Public urination or nuisance may now attract ₹500, up from ₹50.
Penalties for other violations will also rise sharply, including a fine of ₹1,000 for letting a dog roam without a leash and ₹1,000 for defacing a house number. Fines for failing to vacate a dangerous structure and occupying a building without a completion certificate will both increase from ₹200 to ₹1,000.
The bill also removes the provision for imprisonment for minor offences and decriminalises several minor offences, including depositing rubbish in streets and washing clothes at unauthorised places.
The NDMC Act amendments follow a similar approach, with 145 provisions decriminalised, including 68 where fines or imprisonment are converted into penalties and 26 where penal clauses are removed entirely.
