The Bombay High Court (HC) on Monday, November 18, criticised the Maharashtra government and civic bodies across the state for not taking its directives on curbing illegal hoardings and banners “seriously”.
In response to this, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) informed the High Court (HC) that they have removed approximately 20,000 illegal hoardings, hoardings and posters last month during a special drive.
The drive was followed by a directive by Bombay High Court last month, which ordered all municipal corporations, councils, and gram panchayats to conduct a 7-10 day campaign to clear illegal hoardings from public streets, parks, and other spaces.
Now, the court also directed civic bodies to conduct another special drive to remove illegal hoardings after the announcement of election results, given the likelihood of a surge in such banners post-elections.
The court was hearing a batch of petitions seeking contempt action against civic officials for failing to comply with a 2017 order directing them to prevent defacement of the state with illegal hoardings and banners. On October 9, the court had revived a PIL on the issue, underscoring the need for continuous monitoring.
In an affidavit filed before the court, the municipal corporation disclosed that 7,500 of the illegal hoardings are political, while around 8,200 are religious in nature.
Also, the Municipal Corporation has directed all the 24 municipal wards in Mumbai to take strict action against unauthorised exhibitions in public places.
Printing house operators have been instructed not to put up political hoardings without prior permission. Additionally, advertisers have been asked to include QR codes on official billboards for better tracking and enforcement.
The civic body has appointed a Grievance Officer to handle complaints related to illegal hoardings. Citizens can also lodge complaints against illegal hoardings through 'Aaple Sarkar' website or social media platform 'X' (formerly Twitter).
State’s advocate Neha Bhide informed the court that all civic bodies had conducted special drives. Municipal councils of nagar parishads took action against 7,729 illegal hoardings, collecting fines amounting to INR 3,16,800 and filing three FIRs against offenders. In total, 294 affidavits were submitted by municipal councils and 129 by civic bodies, including the municipal corporations of Mumbai, Pune, and Nashik.
The court has highlighted the environmental hazards posed by the use of plastic and other non-biodegradable materials in such hoardings. The HC also emphasised that it would be the personal responsibility of the highest officer of the authorities concerned — including municipal bodies and police officials — to enforce its orders.
The HC has directed all civic bodies to provide detailed reports of actions taken against illegal hoardings to the State government, which, in turn, must compile and submit these in a tabular and comprehensive format.
The matter has been scheduled for further hearing on December 9.
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