“Smokers have 14 days to give up smoking on the campus. After that, anyone caught smoking on the campus will be penalised,” Amrita Bahri, DUSU president, said on Friday.

“Anyone found smoking within the campus will be fined up to Rs 200,” said DCP (North) Devesh Shrivastav. And assisting the Delhi Police in catching violators will be CCTV cameras, which will become operational by March, police said.

The DUSU, which has been working with university authorities and Delhi Police towards a tobacco-free campus, also wants to get rid of vendors selling tobacco in the neighbourhood.

“The cigarette vendors will have to convert to selling eatable products, which is a positive change,” Bahri said.

Three vendors have been prosecuted for selling tobacco within 100 meters periphery of the educational institution. The rule has been in force since the last couple of years.

The next step,the DUSU president said, is to prohibit smoking on roads that cross the campus, even if they do not fall under the prohibited area.

The Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products Act (2003) specifies that “public place”, where smoking shall be prohibited, does not include “open space”.

“We have given a memorandum to both the Central and state governments asking them to notify DU roads — Chaatra Marg, Maurice Nagar and Khalsa College Road — as no-smoking zones,” Bahri said.

Bahri said the rule will apply to teachers, administrative staff, policemen, rickshaw-pullers, parents and tourists who enter the campus. “This is the last resort to make people stop smoking as NGOs and doctors have not managed to convince them to do so,” she said.

While DUSU has the backing of 90 per cent of students in the varsity, some of them are not in favour of the blanket ban.

“We are not 16-year-olds. You can consider that smoking is morally bad but you cannot view it as an offence similar to breaking the traffic law. You have the right to morally inform us but in any case, punishment can stop someone from doing something. If I am caught smoking and don't have Rs 200, will they put me in jail with criminals?” Varun, a 23-year-old law student, said.