Pune: The Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) took action against 206 unauthorised hoardings across the city following the hoarding collapse incident at the Juna Bazar Chowk. However, they continue to stand tall without any action being taken against them. In all, 51 such hoardings have come up in the city within four months.
The municipal corporation’s Sky Sign Department submitted a list of the unauthorised hoardings to the General Body when the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) corporator Rafiq Shaikh raised a written query on the issue.
Head of Sky and Sign Department Vijay Dahibhate told Sakal Times, “We continue to bring down unauthorised hoardings. Yet, 51 hoardings have come up in the city areas and we will act against them.”
At present, there are 1,878 authorised hoardings in the city. Of these, the Pune Municipal Corporation found 140 flouting the norms of hoarding policy 2003. As per the Bombay Provincial Municipal Corporation (control of advertising and hoarding) Rules 2003, the civic body can allow a hoarding size of maximum 40x20 feet. All these hoardings are oversized, encroached upon the footpath and over 40 feet in height.
Last year in October, four people died and 10 were hurt in the hoarding collapse near the Juna Bazar Chowk in Mangalwar Peth. It was constructed on the Pune railway land. Following that incident, the Pune Municipal Corporation removed 206 unauthorised hoardings, of these, around 109 had no
identified owners.
When asked about anonymous hoardings, Dahibhate said, “We have instructed our officials to lodge police complaints against the advertisers, who have placed advertisings on the anonymous hoardings.”
