Mumbai: Following the directives of civic authorities, the ward-level officials have issued notices to authorised hoardings in their respective wards asking the owners/ agencies to carry out a structural audit of the hoardings. It is mandatory for advertisers to submit a new structural audit report to the BMC after every two years.
A giant billboard collapsed on a petrol pump in Ghatkopar, killing 16 and injuring 75 people on May 13. Prima facie, it was found that the billboard was not strong, so the BMC has appointed the Veermata Jijabai Technological Institute (VJTI) to carry out a technical inspection of the structure. The billboard that collapsed was 120x120 ft, which is beyond BMC's permissible limit of 40x40 ft. The civic body has also issued a notice to a private agency who issued the certificate to Ego Media.
In the wake of the incident, the BMC has now started verifying the structural audit report of the legal hoardings across the city. In a structural audit of billboards and hoardings, the foundation of the structure is examined to compare its load-bearing capacity and the maximum wind-load it can stand. As per the BMC's rules, after the billboard is erected following all the structural aspects, the advertiser has to submit a structural audit certificate to the BMC, who will then issue a license to the advertiser.
There are more than 120 hoardings in the Jogeshwari and the Andheri area, the second-highest in the city. "After the mishap in Ghatkopar we are once again ensuring that the legal hoardings in our wards have a stability certificate. We have asked all licensed hoarding owners in our ward to submit a structural audit report," said Manish Valanju, assistant municipal commissioner from K/East ward. Dhanaji Hirlekar, assistant municipal commissioner of L ward said, "The notice has been sent to 31 legal hoardings in BMC's jurisdiction, while 14 hoardings on railway land. We have asked them to submit their audit report in the next 15 days."
The license issued by the BMC is valid for two years. At the time of renewal, the agency has to submit a new structural audit report. A private engineering firm empaneled with the BMC, can carry out the audit and give certificates, as per civic official. There are 1,025 authorised hoardings across the city in BMC's jurisdiction. Out of which 573 are non-illuminated, 382 are illuminated and 70 are LED hoardings. The civic body earned a revenue of Rs 100 crore as license fees through this hoarding last year.
