The Bombay High Court today directed civic bodies across Maharashtra to launch a special drive to remove illegal hoardings, posters and banners by October 15.
The drive to remove illegal hoardings should be completed by October 15, said a division bench of Justices Abhay Oka and Anil Menon while hearing a bunch of public interest litigations.
In November last year, the high court had asked municipal bodies in the state to remove illegal hoardings.
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Today's order came after the petitioners raised the issue of illegal posters and hoardings during the just-concluded Ganesh festival.
The bench inquired whether the political parties in Maharashtra have evolved any grievance redressal mechanism for the members of the public to stop illegal hoardings being put up by their supporters.
The judges also asked the government and the municipal commissioners to inform it whether political leaders were coming in the way of removal of illegal hoardings and posters in the state.
The bench also directed the civic bodies in the state to file separate reports by October 10 on how many illegal hoardings and posters had been removed by them in their respective areas.
The PILs, filed by Suswaraj Foundation and Bhagwanji Riyani of Janhit Manch, alleged that political workers, NGOs and private organisations put up illegal hoardings, banners and posters all over the state in complete violation of civic rules, defacing private and public properties and spaces.
The judges asked the civic bodies to give wide publicity to the grievance redressal mechanism adopted to remove illegal hoardings such as e-mails, letters, toll-free numbers
The court allowed the citizens to file anonymous complaints in this regard, if they wanted to do so.
The judges had earlier directed the civic bodies to introduce a dedicated website where complaints or photographs of such illegal hoardings can be uploaded for necessary action.
Such websites should be on the lines of those websites already introduced by civic bodies for complaints on potholes on streets and roads across the state, the bench had said.
In November 2015, the high court had directed NCP and BJP
to nominate one worker from their respective parties in each municipal area to take note of illegal hoardings and bring it to the attention of municipal body concerned for their removal.
The court had earlier warned political parties of contempt action after it was informed that despite tendering apology and undertakings that no illegal hoardings will be put up, workers of BJP, MNS and NCP were found to have erected hoardings at several places in Mumbai.
"Political parties and their leaders have complete disregard for the law and orders passed by the court. Why don't you appoint one leader in each ward who will be held responsible for illegal hoardings? Do this, then we will know that you are genuinely dedicated," the court had said.
"The hoardings have names of people who claim to have put it up. Give us their addresses and we will issue contempt notices against them," the high court had observed.
