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Urban Encroachment

Now, BMC to remove illegal hoardings from inner roads

Monday, 18 March 2013 05:41 administrator
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The Indian Express                        18.03.2013

Now, BMC to remove illegal hoardings from inner roads

Days after the High Court rapped BMC for allowing illegal hoardings and posters in the city, the civic body will now move its drive to bylanes and inner arterial roads across the city, said officials.

Following High Court directives, BMC pulled down over 6,050 illegal hoardings before the weekend, with another 990 added by Sunday night."We have removed illegal hoardings from all major areas and roads. There are some areas in the smaller bylanes and near residential areas which we have to focus now. The process to identify and remove these hoardings is on out at ward level, said B M Sathe, Deputy Superitendent, License Department of BMC.

The civic body is also in the process of drafting a policy on the lines of Delhi which has a 'zero tolerance' for illegal hoardings and banners. Municipal Commissioner Sitaram Kunte will soon send a team of civic officials to study how the civic body in Delhi has managed to keep it free of posters.

 

Action against unauthorised hoardings to continue

Saturday, 16 March 2013 09:41 administrator
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The Times of India                      16.03.2013

Action against unauthorised hoardings to continue

PUNE: There was no let up on the second day of the drive against unauthorised hoardings and banners, as the civic staff pulled down 3,818 hoardings, flex boards and banners from various part of the city, taking the number to 10,391 since Thursday.

The Bombay high court has extended the deadline to clear illegal hoardings till April 25.

A bunch of public interest litigations pertaining to illegal hoarding in Mumbai, Thane, Pune, Mira Bhayander and Satara had come up for hearing before the high court bench comprising justices A M Khanwilkar and A P Bhangale on Wednesday. While hearing the matter, the judges had orally set a 24-hour deadline for taking action against illegal hoardings and submit an action taken report on Friday.

Abhijit Kulkarni, panel lawyer of the PMC, said, "On Friday we submitted a report to the court about the action that we took on Thursday. The court appreciated the effort and gave order to continue the drive till April 25."

Kulkarni said after reviewing the action, the bench of justices A M Khanwilkar and A B Bhangale expressed satisfaction on the conduct of the drive. "The bench stated that measures should be taken to ensure that new hoardings do not come again at places where action has been carried out. The court has also suggested that the police's help be taken, if needed," Kulkarni said.

The anti-encroachment department, sky sign permission, building permission and health departments collectively carried out the drive. According to officials there are around 2,123 legal hoardings in the city.

'Remove metal structures used to put up hoardings'

Citizens groups in the city have demanded that action should also be taken against the structures on which illegal hoardings are mounted so that unauthorised hoardings are eliminated permanently. "The drive will be made more effective if the iron structures on which hoardings are mounted are also removed. In many cases the administration has only removed the posters and advertising material on these structures," said Ajay Vaishampayan, founder of UV foundation, in a letter written to the civic administration.

He said that if the structures are not removed properly, then the hoardings will crop up again. Many of these have been put up on private and government land, without proper permission.
Last Updated on Saturday, 16 March 2013 09:53
 

Protest for clearing encroachments

Saturday, 16 March 2013 06:42 administrator
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The Hindu                          16.03.2013

Protest for clearing encroachments

Protesters removing the poles fixed for building sheds in Hubli on Friday.— Kiran Bakale
Protesters removing the poles fixed for building sheds in Hubli on Friday.— Kiran Bakale.

Residents of Green Garden, Rajdhani Colony, Shivapur Colony and Vikas Nagar staged a protest here on Friday against encroachments in their localities.

The residents had noticed that several sheds had come up along the storm drains in their areas in the past few days, and more were being built. When the residents questioned those who had put up the sheds, they were told to mind their business.

The protesters, a majority of whom were women, first gathered at Kariyamma Devi Temple in Green Garden and held a discussion there, before marching towards an area near the temple premises where poles had been fixed to build sheds.

On reaching the spot, some protesters started removing the poles. When those who had built the sheds were found, they were asked if they had permission to do that on municipal corporation land, and they replied in the negative.

After clearing that area, the protesters marched towards another site in Vikas Nagar. There, they staged a demonstration and tried to remove the poles.

When asked, those responsible for putting up the sheds on corporation land clarified that they had not received the permission. They claimed that work on the sheds had been stopped due to elections, and assured protesters that work would continue only after permission was obtained.

Some protesters told presspersons that because of the encroachments around and over the storm drains, residents faced problems during rains as the overflowing drain inundated the localities.

The police convinced protesters that the matter would be taken up with the municipal authorities.

Several residents who led the protest said they would approach the Municipal Commissioner and seek the removal of the encroachments.

The residents subsequently lodged a complaint with the Hubli-Dharwad Municipal Corporation.

When contacted, corporation officials clarified that the encroachments would be cleared in two days.

 
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