Contempt case: Showcause to 10 civic heads for non-compliance

The Bombay High Court today issued notices to municipal commissioners of 10 districts in Maharashtra as to why contempt action should not be taken against them for failing to file compliance reports showing steps taken to ensure no illegal hoardings and banners are put up on Republic Day.
A division bench of justices A S Oka and C V Bhadang issued the show cause notices to the municipal commissioners of Pune, Navi Mumbai, Kolhapur, Solapur, Malegaon, Akola, Nanded, Sangli, Ahmednagar and Bhiwandi and directed them to file their reply affidavits by February 18.
The bench was hearing two public interest litigations alleging that political parties, in total disregard to the rules and laws, had put up illegal hoardings and banners all over the state thereby defacing private and public properties in the towns and cities.

The court had on several occasions directed the civic bodies and councils to ensure that no hoardings and banners are put up without prior and requisite permission.
It had, during the last hearing, asked all municipal corporations and councils to file compliance report on what steps they had taken to ensure that no such hoardings are put up prior to and on Republic Day.
The bench was today informed that apart from the civic bodies in Mumbai, Nashik, Thane and Pimpri-Chinchwad no other corporation filed the report.

Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation's lawyer Anil Sakhare
said the police should provide more protection to the civic body's squads which remove illegal hoardings.

The HC had, on November 26 last year, asked the municipal bodies across Maharashtra to take up a special drive against illegal hoardings, posters and banners.
On September 16, 2016, the court again ordered a month-long drive against illegal hoardings. This period ended today, so the bench ordered that the drive should continue until the final order was passed.
The BMC said in an affidavit today that it had removed 12,486 banners in the city recently, lodged 2,855 police complaints, and police had registered FIRs in 138 cases.
BMC had launched prosecution in 920 cases, and also set up a toll-free number where citizens can complain about illegal hoardings, it said.

The High Court had earlier warned the political parties of action for contempt of court after it was informed that despite tendering apology and giving undertakings to the court, workers of BJP, MNS and NCP were found to have put up illegal hoardings at several places in the city.