Tejas Navale

Pune: Yesterday, the Additional Commissioner of the Municipal Corporation took a review of the number of illegal and unauthorised hoardings in the city. The additional commissioner ordered a few officials to take photos of such unauthorised hoarding in the city and submit them to him. Accordingly, on Thursday, the Additional Commissioner showed the photographs of the hoarding to the zonal officers along with sky sign inspectors in the presence of the Municipal Commissioner.

Because of this, many officials were caught in a tough spot. It further revealed that the sky sign department itself is unaware of the government's regulations regarding hoardings. Additional Commissioner Prithviraj B. P. held a meeting in the municipality on Thursday regarding hoardings in the city. Assistant Commissioner, Circle Deputy Commissioner, Sky Sign Department Deputy Commissioner, and other officers of all zonal offices of the municipality were present in this meeting. At the end of the meeting, Commissioner Dr. Rajendra Bhosale also summoned officers.

Following the Ghatkopar hoarding incident, the municipality has taken action to remove unauthorised hoardings throughout the city. Despite this effort, numerous official hoardings have been illegally erected. In several instances, hoardings have been placed on both sides of the iron framework, even though regulations only permit one side. Some hoardings exceed the allowed height, and others have been densely clustered on single buildings. Additionally, several iron frameworks supporting these hoardings are in hazardous condition.

In light of these issues, Additional Commissioner Prithviraj B. P. assigned municipal officers and employees to inspect the hoardings. These teams toured the city, capturing photographs of dangerous and illegal billboards. During a subsequent meeting, Prithviraj BP presented these images to the officials of the sky sign department to highlight the violations and potential dangers.

After the meeting, Prithviraj B. P. ordered officials to send photos of all 2,648 hoardings in the city to the head department. He also ordered immediate action against dangerous hoardings and, within 15–20 days, against the remaining illegal hoardings. "If the contractor does not remove the illegal hoardings on his own, the municipality will take action against it and recover the cost from the concerned," said the additional commissioner.