The West Bengal government will begin imposing fines on people who spit or litter in public places from September 1, as part of a statewide initiative to improve urban cleanliness.

A new parking policy aimed at regulating illegal parking will also come into effect on the same day.

State Urban Development and Municipal Affairs Minister Agnimitra Pal said the government wants the police to collect fines for littering and public spitting, arguing that sanitation workers cannot effectively enforce the rules.

According to the minister, the police already have the necessary infrastructure to issue and collect penalties for illegal parking, making them best suited for the additional responsibility.

She added that the proposal would be discussed with Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari.

The government also plans to tighten parking regulations. Residents without a garage who park their vehicles outside their homes will be fined by the respective municipalities.

Speaking after a meeting with the Kolkata Police Commissioner and senior police officials on Friday, Pal said both private and commercial vehicles parked overnight on public roads will have to pay a night parking fee.

Penalties for commercial vehicles parked unnecessarily on roads will also be increased.

To support the new parking policy, the state is developing a dedicated parking app for Kolkata Police. The app will allow motorists to locate nearby parking spaces and pay parking charges online.

Officials have identified around 15,000 parking zones across Kolkata, with tenders being invited for their management.

According to government sources, while parking fees are currently collected from nearly 4,000 parking zones, the municipal corporation is allegedly not receiving the revenue from those collections.