Maharashtra Govt Orders Structural Audits of Hoardings in MMR for Next 30 Days

The Maharashtra government on Monday, July 1, announced a structural audit of all hoardings put up across the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR).

The move follows an unfortunate incident of hoarding collapse in Ghatkopar on May 13 that left 17 dead and 81 injured.

During the State assembly, state Industries Minister Uday Samant said that anyone found not following guidelines would face consequences. This statement came after BJP MLAs Ram Kadam and Nitesh Rane accused Uddhav Thackeray, the president of the Shiv Sena (UBT), of involvement in the case.

Samant mentioned that the Dilip Bhosale committee was formed to investigate the hoarding issue. It would look into these claims. 

BJP MLA Ram Kadam presented a picture of Uddhav Thackeray with Bhavesh Bhide. It should be noted that Bhide is the director of the advertising agency, Ego Media Private Limited, responsible for the hoarding. Kadam questioned how Bhide obtained authorization. He also called for an investigation into his relationship with Thackeray and possible political favouritism.

Bhavesh Bhinde has been taken into custody by the police. The state government formed a high-level committee led by former chief judge of the Allahabad High Court, Dilip Bhosale, on June 10 to investigate the tragedy.

In Mumbai, there are 1,025 hoardings, with 305 built on railway property. Samant testified that the railways had not obtained permission from the BMC for these hoardings and had not followed the BMC regulations. The Bombay High Court (HC) ruled in favour of the challenge against the railways. 

On May 15, the BMC instructed the railways to carry out structural evaluations of all 305 hoardings. On June 14, the Supreme Court (SC) also ordered the railroads to ensure that hoardings on their property do not cause accidents during the monsoon season.

Opposition members raised the hoarding collapse issue in the state assembly. Samant responded by saying that a structural audit of all MMR hoardings would be carried out within the next 30 days. He assured that any anomalies found would lead to consequences for the responsible parties.