Chhattisgarh's Balodabazar district administration will use fine money collected from lockdown violators to buy personal protective equipment (PPE) kits and masks for health workers battling Covid-19 and to improve facilities in government hospitals.
District Collector Kartikeya Goyal said on Monday: "Generally the fine money is used by the department concerned. But in view of Covid-19, we have decided to exclusively spend it for health purposes, including buying PPE kits, masks and other medical equipment."
The money will also be used to ensure certain facilities to patients in community health centres, he said.
Since this decision was taken on May 8, various government departments, including local civic body, revenue and police, have recovered penalties worth around Rs 3 lakh from those not wearing masks in public places and flouting quarantine protocols, he said.
All the departments have been told to issue a challan receipt in the name of Jeevan Deep Samiti so that the fine amount is directly transferred into its account, he said.
The Jeevan Deep Samiti manages the functioning of community health centers in the district.