Despite a ban, illegal banners have started reappearing on the trunk of trees and electric poles at public places in Mira Road even as ward officials attached to the Mira Bhayandar Municipal Corporation (MBMC) continue to turn a blind eye towards the eyesores.
The civic administration had passed a resolution to roll-back the system of giving permissions for putting up temporary flex banners and hoardings across all 95 wards across the twin-city from October 1, 2018.
However, violators continue to hammer nails into tree trunks and also cut off their branches for better visibility of the flex menace.
Apart from posing a serious threat to pedestrians and motorists, these arbitrarily installed hoardings are not only defacing the region but also seriously damaging trees, which are considered as the natural lungs for human habitation.
Installing hoardings, banners and posters at public places is bound to attract penal action under the various sections of the Maharashtra Prevention of Defacement of Property Act.
The offence is recognized as a cognizable one making it mandatory for the police to register FIRs against the offenders.
Apart from monetary fines, those convicted under the law could face three months in jail.
The MBMC had started filing offences at local police stations against the violators, however, the process was stalled due to the pandemic-induced lockdown, providing an opportunity to violators to deface the city for the sake of promotion of their establishments.
It has been alleged that the garden department, which is the custodian of the trees in the twin-city, has failed miserably in safeguarding the trees from being targeted for free brand promotion.
