Can ward offices be held accountable for illegal hoardings?

Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar:

In the city, leaders, workers, organisations, and associations from various political parties put up hoardings wherever they please. The municipal administration has openly tolerated this defacement for many years. As a result, the hoarding business has flourished quickly. With intense competition in this field, prices have dropped significantly—large hoardings are now being produced for just Rs 1,000 to Rs 1,500. What’s striking is that the administration has not formulated any policy regarding hoardings at all.

Two days ago, when Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis visited the city, he pointed out the issue of visual pollution caused by hoardings. This prompted the municipal administration to finally take action. Starting Tuesday, operations began to remove unauthorised hoardings. All ward offices were instructed to seize any hoardings they came across. In some areas, disagreements broke out between municipal officials and party workers. As the drive to remove all hoardings gained momentum, it created a stir among political leaders and activists. The campaign is expected to continue for at least two to three more days. Municipal officials estimate that there are around 10,000 small and large hoardings in the city. The crackdown continued late into the night.

What is being done to prevent hoardings from coming up again?

The municipal corporation is currently deploying its machinery to remove all unauthorised hoardings across the city. However, it has not formulated any concrete policy to ensure that such hoardings do not reappear in the future. Typically, the civic body undertakes such removal drives only once a year. Since no strict action is taken against those who put up these hoardings, the problem continues to worsen.

Accountability must be fixed

Municipal officers and staff regularly move through all parts of the city. However, most employees dismiss hoardings as “not their responsibility” and ignore them. If accountability is fixed at the ward level, unauthorised hoardings can be prevented from reappearing.

Heavy fines needed

Those putting up illegal hoardings must be identified and penalised. If the fine amount is substantial, it could deter individuals or groups seeking publicity through such hoardings.