Mumbai: Observing the safety of pedestrians and motorists is of paramount importance, the Bombay High Court recently directed the BMC to place on record its policy pertaining to illuminated hoardings in the city. It comes after the HC opined such illuminated hoardings can pose a threat to pedestrians and motorists and cause light pollution.
A bench of Justices Satyaranjan Dharmadhikari and Gautam Patel has sought a policy, if any, of the BMC to regulate illuminated hoardings in the city. The bench was seized with a plea by a firm challenging the ‘communication’ of the BMC, by which the civic body has insisted the firm obtain a ‘no objection certificate’ from the Maharashtra Coastal Zone Management Authority (MCZMA). The body has sought the NOC as the six hoardings, of which five are illuminated, are within a Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) area. The hoardings are at Marine Lines, Peddar Road and Juhu.
The judges noted the size of the hoardings are very large and are on major arterial roads, which witness heavy traffic and are densely congested. “We are clear in the larger public interest, and specifically, the issue of safety of both motorists and pedestrians, is paramount. There is the question of structural stability especially during stormy monsoon weather and the risk to motorists and pedestrians in the event of a collapse, apart from the inevitable disruption of traffic,” the judges said. “The second issue that concerns us is about any possible danger that the illuminations themselves present. If they are excessively bright, they may pose a disturbance to motorists, especially at the time when the advertiser desires illumination i.e. during the dark night-time hours,” the judges noted.
The bench said very bright illuminations can cause problems to clear lines of sight and are usually distractions for motorists. “Though the visual disruption may be momentary or transient, a split second is all it takes to lead to a catastrophe. It is precisely at these late hours times that very often traffic signals are turned off and vehicles are moving at a much higher speed than during daytime rush hours,” the bench noted.
“Further, if these hoardings are left illuminated all through the night, then there is the question of light pollution and the disturbance caused to the residents of buildings on which the hoardings are placed and to residents in the nearby areas as well,” the judges opined.The bench further said there is no fundamental right to install or put up a hoarding per se, leave alone an illuminated hoarding.
The bench accordingly directed the BMC to file an affidavit spelling out the precise nature of these illuminations, the intensity of the illumination in lumens, the duration for which this illumination would run, whether any of these illuminated hoardings have digital or moving displays and also the precise measures or safeguards insisted on by the civic body regarding structural stability. The matter would be next heard on July 17.
