Pune: Over 400 illegal hoardings still standing in PCMC Area, despite warnings and court order
Pimpri, 19th April 2023: There are 434 unauthorized hoardings in various parts of Pimpri-Chinchwad city, and the dispute is pending in court. The Pimpri Chinchwad Municipal Corporation (PCMC) has taken action against only 127 illegal hoardings so far.
The PCMC had prepared a hoarding policy, which was canceled by the government. The state government made a policy for all municipalities on 9th May 2022, which has not been implemented by the PCMC even after a year.
The issue of illegal hoarding in the city came to the fore when five people died when a hoarding collapsed on a shop in Kiwale. The municipal corporation conducted a survey of hoardings in the city in September 2021, in which 119 illegal hoardings were found on 109 municipal seats. The corporation warned that hoardings should be removed within 15 days, failing which criminal cases would be registered. However, no action was taken against the unauthorized hoarding, and the number of illegal hoardings increased.
The municipal corporation changed its stance and decided to remove the unauthorized hoardings instead of authorizing them. A notice was sent to the hoarding owners on 11th April 2022, asking them to remove the unauthorized hoarding. However, the owners refused to remove the hoarding, and the Pimpri-Chinchwad Advertising Association filed a petition in the Bombay High Court against the notice. The court has ordered that no action should be taken against the hoardings until the petition is disposed of.
Presently, there are 1,407 official hoardings in the city, out of which 35 are on municipal premises, 28 on builders’ premises, and 1,344 on private premises. Between 1st April 2022 and 13th April 2023, 127 illegal hoardings were removed, and the municipal corporation earned Rs 6.68 lakh from them.
The involvement of politicians in the hoarding business has led to the increase in the number of illegal hoardings in the city. Some former contractors are also associated with this business. Corporators often pressure the authorities to allow hoardings, and the authorities approve them.
Shekhar Singh, the Commissioner of PCMC, said that the incident due to illegal hoarding would be brought to the court’s notice, and an urgent hearing would be requested. He also stated that the hoarding policy of the government would be implemented in the next three to four months.
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