The Bombay High Court on Friday directed all municipal authorities in the state to ensure that if a complaint is lodged regarding illegal hoardings and banners, no details of the complainant should be disclosed, especially to the offender. The court was hearing a public interest litigation (PIL) that sought removal of illegal hoardings, banners and arches. “The municipal officers will not reveal the identity of the complainant,’’ said Justices A S Oka and A S Gadkari. The court also appointed members of the bars as court commissioners in their respective cities to keep a check on such illegal hoardings. “They will have to keep a check in their areas and prepare a list of illegal hoardings and submit the same to the commissioner of municipal authorities,’’ said the court. The court observed that citizens had not come forward to file complaints. “We find that though the facility to file complaints has been provided but very few complaints have been received by the municipal authorities. Unless citizens come forward and help the municipal authorities they will not be able to ensure effective compliance,’’ added the Judges. The HC has directed the municipal authorities to once again publicise the toll-free numbers and SMS facilities for lodging complaints. The names and phone numbers of the citizens’ committees will also be provided on their websites. The court stated that in the case of a few municipal corporations, substantial compliance was there, but many were yet to comply with the directions. “We grant time to all municipal corporations to comply with all the directions. But no further extension shall be given and the matter of non-compliance will be viewed seriously,” the court said.
