Mumbai: Despite rising complaints, illegal hoardings dot prime locations

According to the data received from the BMC's license department, just 15 illegal hoardings were removed from H-West (Khar and Bandra West) ward in September, while a total of 190 hoardings were brought down in the G-North (Mahim and Dadar) ward between January and September.

In its drive against illegal hoardings, The Free Press Journal has received the maximum number of complaints from these wards, but the official data suggests a condoning attitude towards such illegal displays.

The eyesores not just covered the prime locations of Dadar, Mahim and Bandra West, but were also spotted in Shivaji Park at Dadar during the Dussehra rally. “Political workers install hoardings and banners at night time, so what we can do is only remove them the next day and lodge a complaint with the local police station. Our team keeps a close eye on such hoardings and takes action on a regular basis”, claimed the civic officials of these wards.

After perusing the civic data, it has been noticed that not a single hoarding or banner was removed from January to July. 93 and 97 religious or social banners and political flags were removed in August and September, respectively, from Dadar and Mahim areas. Only eight complaints were sent to the police station while no FIR was filed. Similarly, 349 illegal hoardings were brought down in the H-West ward, including the 15 displays that were removed last month. In these cases, 25 complaints were filed at the police station but no FIR was registered.

 Vinod Desai, an activist from the Dadar area said, “The civic officials are scared of political parties so they never take a stand against them. The rules are also not applied in force. The officials should take strong action so that no hoardings come up henceforth.”

Advocate Kumar Nichani, founder of Bandra, Khar, Santacruz citizens group, said, “No civic team is seen taking action in the ward. Just selective hoardings are removed. Now the citizens should come up and file a PIL in the court to get rid of illegal hoardings.”

BMC assistant commissioners Prashant Sapkale (G-North) and Vinayak Vispute (H-West) were unavailable for comments even after repeated attempts.