One week to clear Pune of illegal hoardings’: Police, PMC launch joint crackdown

Amitesh Kumar said, “A joint meeting of Pune City Police and PMC has been conducted. Among the issues discussed was a drive against the illegal hoardings and long term planning for monsoon preparedness. A sharp rise has been observed in the number of illegal and unauthorised hoardings in the city. A joint coordinated drive will be launched starting Thursday against these illegal hoardings. We have chalked out a strategy to remove all illegal hoardings from the city in one week. We will take action against printers who print these hoardings and publishers who display it, and those who erect illegal structures for it. Their list has been prepared. Police and PMC are appealing to the people of Pune to help us get rid of the defacement that these hoardings cause.”

The police commissioner added, “A coordination meeting at the level of Police station in-charge officers and ward officers of the PMC will be conducted to strategise for the drive. These officers will also coordinate with the newly elected corporators of the PMC. We consider corporators as a bridge that connects people and administration. This drive will be conducted in full coordination with the corporators.”

Naval Kishore Ram said, “Pune City is developing very rapidly. We have a choice between reckless expansion and disciplined growth, and we obviously want to choose disciplined growth. The Honourable Chief Minister of Maharashtra has raised the issue of illegal hoardings multiple times in his speeches in the recent past. To stop this defacement, we are launching a drive to make Pune free of illegal hoardings. Hoardings of people giving birthday wishes keep coming up. These hoardings have some large faces and dozens of small faces and this affects the aesthetics of the city. We are taking into confidence 165 newly elected corporators and city unit heads of each political party in this effort.”

Amitesh Kumar further said, ‘Within one week, our Police stations in-charge officers and ward officers should be in a position to certify that their area is completely illegal hoarding free. We are even ready to take strict legal action if the hoardings keep coming up. Initially a cleansing exercise will be conducted, without registering any case. And if there is violation after that we will not just register criminal cases but also seize machines that print hoardings. In one week we — the police and the PMC — hope to change the picture wherein a lot of defacement has happened to the city.”

When asked about the fact that many of these hoardings belong to political parties and leaders, and many times action is not taken due to political pressure, Amitesh Kumar said, “That is history now. We want to start with a new slate. We will take everyone in confidence. Those who obstruct this drive, we will take action against them.”
Speaking about other issues discussed in the meeting, Amitesh Kumar said, “For Monsoon preparedness, discussions were held on waterlogging spots and solutions to them. As many as 400 spots have been identified. We also conduct a joint drive against unclaimed and abandoned vehicles on the streets. We will coordinate with PMC officers on complaints about illegal activities done by miscreants on the open spaces, hill slopes and grounds. Additional CCTV cameras and lights, if needed, will be installed at these locations. We have also observed an increase in the number of unauthorised hawkers on the roads. A pilot drive against illegal hawkers on Fergusson College Road will be conducted in coordination with the PMC.”