Mumbai: The District Disaster Management Authority (Mumbai City) on Friday sent a notice to the Police Commissioner (Railway) to remove oversized hoardings (more than 40ft x 40ft) erected on Government Railway Police (GRP) premises within three days.
As per the notice, other than the hoardings at Ghatkopar (East), the GRP has permitted eight more billboards erected by Ego Media without the BMC’s permission on Tilak Bridge at Dadar (East). If the railway police fails to do so, the hoardings will be pulled down by the BMC, at the GRP’s cost, the notice states.
One of the four billboards operated by Ego Media fell at the Ghatkopar petrol pump in Chheda Nagar junction along the Eastern Expressway on May 13, following a massive dust storm. The incident claimed 16 lives and injured 75. There are 1,025 legal hoardings in the BMC’s jurisdiction, and 179 on railway land. The billboard that collapsed on Monday was 120ft x 120ft, which is far beyond the permissible size of hoarding as per the BMC’s policy.
The civic body has noticed 45 oversize hoardings on railway land that should be removed for safety purposes. The chairperson of the District Disaster Management Authority (Mumbai City) and Additional Municipal Commissioner Dr Ashiwini Joshi issued a notice exercising power provided under Section 30 (2) (v) and Section 31 (3) (b) Disaster Management Act 2005 to the Police Commissioner (Railway).
“Considering the coastal location and expected wind speed, the size of the hoarding needs to be regulated. It is noticed that there are eight other oversize hoardings (ie more than 40ft x 40ft) erected on GRP premises within the jurisdiction of railways, which are erected not in consonance with the policy of BMC – location, size, type, structural audit, etc.
Therefore, the possibility of the same to collapse on the adjoining municipal roads / private land/structures, etc, cannot be denied, which may endanger the lives of the public at large and property loss. In the context of disaster management and to mitigate such a situation due to the erection of oversize hoardings in GRP premises within three days from the receipt of this notice in order to avoid a disaster situation and for the safety of the public at large, failing which shall be removed by BMC at your risk and the cost for removal of the same shall be recovered from you,” states the notice, a copy of which is with The Free Press Journal.
As per BMC’s list, there are seven oversized (between 30ft x 80ft) illuminated hoardings erected by Ego Media on Tilak Bridge, Dadar (East), without BMC permission. One of the hoardings on Tilak Bridge is within the permissible limit (30ft x 40ft) but does not have the civic body’s permission.
