The Indian Express           05.12.2013 

BMC’s new policy says no to hoardings atop buildings

The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has banned new hoardings
atop residential and commercial buildings within the city limits. The
civic body has also increased the distance between two licensed
advertisement hoardings from 20 m to 100 m. Hoardings have also been
banned around religious sites.

The latest hoarding policy, approved by Municipal Commissioner
Sitaram Kunte earlier this week, is aimed at stopping the spread of
advertisement boards and gradually phasing out the existing ones.

According to the BMC’s licence department, 1,692 hoardings are
currently installed in the island city and eastern and western suburbs.
Of these, 630 have been installed on terraces and rooftops. The ban will
not include 194 hoardings set up on dead-wall portions of buildings and
868 installed at ground level.

“The new policy bans all hoardings on top of buildings. We want
to curtail the growth of these structures. We cannot immediately remove
the hoardings where the lease period has not expired. We will allow them
to remain till the expiry,” Additional Municipal Commissioner Mohan
Adtani said.

The BMC specifies a two-year ceiling for hoardings leases. While
buildings older than 30 years face imminent removal of the advertisement
boards set up on terraces, the BMC will allow leases to be renewed in
case of structures under 30 years of age. Leases will be renewed only if
the renewal application contains a structural stability certificate.
The renewals can happen only till the building reaches 30 years of age.

“This way, we can ensure safety of buildings. Now that the policy
has received final approval, a circular will be issued to all ward
offices on Thursday,” Adtani said.

Adtani denied these new conditions were included following the
collapse of five-storey Aftab Manzil in Mahim in June, in which 10
persons were killed. According to resident and advocate Rizwan Merchant,
a large hoarding set up on top of the structure was one of the reasons
for the building’s collapse. The BMC denied this in its investigation
report and concluded that lack of maintenance by residents was the main
cause for the collapse.

Sharad Bande, superintendent of the licence department, said, “We will
assess the position of hoardings in various parts of Mumbai. We will
take down those that do not follow the criteria under the current
policy, which prohibits advertisement boards in heritage precincts,
Coastal Regulatory Zone (CRZ) areas, and public playgrounds. We will
issue showcause notices to the owners of illegal hoardings, and hold
public hearings before deciding which ones follow the criteria and can
be allowed.”