Bombay High Court asks civic bodies for data on FIRs against illegal hoardings-banners, fines recovered

Mumbai: The Bombay High Court on Monday sought from all civic bodies in the state data on the number of FIRs lodged against illegal hoardings, banners and posters put up on public roads and fines recovered.

A bench of Justices Revati Mohite Dere and Sandesh Patil said it wants to know what action municipal corporations and district councils have taken to recover the fine amount.

The court was hearing a bunch of petitions against illegal hoardings, banners and posters put up on public roads and footpaths, which they claimed defaced public property.

The HC has been for the past several years calling for strict action against illegal banners and hoardings and had also ordered all political parties to file an undertaking assuring that none of their functionaries would put them up. The BJP, Congress, Shiv Sena, NCP and MNS had submitted undertakings at the time.

On Monday, the bench said the fine amount for illegal hoarding or poster or banner should be recovered from the person authorized by a political party.

The court asked if every civic body should have a separate department to handle the issue.

"Can we have data on which corporation has registered how many FIRs, what action has been taken and also the fine amount recovered? What action have corporations taken to recover fines? What is the action plan for that?" the court said.

The court commended the steps taken by Latur Municipal Corporation against illegal hoardings and banners and said the same should be incorporated everywhere else.

"The Latur civic body has put in a nice system to tackle the issue. This can be incorporated by other civic bodies too," it said.

The court noted that Latur Municipal Corporation has set up a WhatsApp group of public spirited citizens with civic and police officials to take timely action against illegal hoardings.

The civic body there also held regular meetings with printers in the region and made QR codes compulsory on the hoardings so that it is clear whether a hoarding has been put up after getting requisite permission.

The bench pulled up Thane Municipal Corporation for not filing its affidavit on action taken by it against illegal hoardings, FIRs registered and action taken against concerned persons.

Giving the TMC a last chance to file the affidavit, the court said if the same is not done by next week then it would be constrained to summon the corporation's commissioner.

The court posted the matter for further hearing on November 26.