Ghatkopar tragedy: Only 1,000 hoardings in Mumbai are legal, but why do illegal ones continue to exist?
New Delhi: There are only 1,025 legally authorised hoardings across Mumbai, according to Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC). The civic body is planning to pull down all illegal billboards in the financial hub and has started an audit of all hoardings. The crackdown comes after the Ghatkopar hoarding collapse, which claimed the lives of 14 people. Chief Minister Eknath Shinde also issued directions to BMC to take stringent action against illegal hoardings after he visited the accident site.
The BMC’s hoarding guidelines say that billboards beyond 40 feet by 20 feet will not be allowed to be erected. The killer Ghatkopar hoarding flouted this norm; it measured 120 feet by 120 feet. Therefore, it was illegal and yet it existed. So, the pertinent question is that even though the BMC claims there are 1,025 legal hoardings in the city, why are the illegal ones existing?
A news report also says that BMC generates a staggering revenue of around Rs 100 crore from the licensing fees of the hoardings dotting the city.
Who owns the land and how contracts are struck
The spaces or lands where hoardings are put up are owned by the Mumbai Port Trust, Collector Land, and Railway Land.
The BMC is the nodal agency which is responsible for striking contracts with advertising firms for installing the hoardings. It should adhere to various norms and yardsticks before sealing a deal with ad agencies and companies. This involves getting no-objection certificates from various departments, including the Building Proposal Department, the Tree Authority, and the Soil Testing Department. Once these are obtained, the civic body enters into a one-year agreement with the advertiser. The agreement also mentions a fixed deposit and rental fee. But it has also come to light that the annual renewal process is often given a short shrift, due to which a number of hoardings exist with impunity. The Ghatkopar hoarding which belonged to Ego Media existed illegally.
It’s because of shoddy enforcement of guidelines, inept monitoring and poor coordination between the civic authorities that Ghatkopar-like tragedies occur, some civic activists have alleged. They alleged that many hoardings in the city are still standing even though the one-year contract has expired.
MCD’s advisory to ad agencies
Following the Ghatkopar incident, the MCD in the national capital has issued an advisory to all ad agencies, asking them to carry out structural audit and gauge the strength of pillars and unipoles. The civic body in Delhi is also conducting a crackdown on illegal hoardings, posters, signage and banners.