Court okays removal of obstructive hoardings

A division bench of Justices J N Patel and S K Shah, while hearing a public interest litigation (PIL) directed that the removal process be started after providing an opportunity to the concerned advertiser for voicing his grievance before the authority concerned and recording minutes of the same.

"We make it clear that it will be open for the authorities to allow the ad agencies to relocate their hoardings as per provisions under the rules," the court said in its order.

The bench directed that charges be recovered from those advertisers, who have used vantage points along the roads and footpaths in an unauthorised manner.

It ordered that the offender be given two weeks of time to pay the charges and in case of failure to do so, the hoarding and allied material be confiscated by the authorities. The same can be released only after he pays the charge as well as expenses incurred for removal of the hoarding, the court ordered. Defaulters on either counts shall not be permitted to install any ad board or hoarding in future, the court added.

It has further restrained the NMC from going ahead with any plans of promoting the Sinage System (overhead ads displayed on arches) unless it formulates a comprehensive policy for outdoor hoardings in consonance with the Indian Road Congress guidelines.

This was stated after the bench was informed that the NMC had engaged an expert agency to deal with the upcoming scheme. It ordered that the comprehensive policy, as and when formulated, be shown to the court before the NMC goes ahead with its implementation.

Today’s order bears a far-reaching effect considering the applicability of the court directives which can help places like Amravati, facing similar situation, to overcome the problem.

Court raps NMC for ad kiosks

The court raised a strong exception to the fact that the Nagpur Municipal Corporation cleared an advertising agency to install 601 ad kiosks throughout the city at a time when it was seized of a litigation against obstruction caused by advertisement boards and hoarding in smooth flow of traffic. The reaction came after Prakash Meghe, one of the lawyers appearing in the matter, showed some photographs to the court to highlight the problem caused by these kiosks. Meghe submitted that the kiosks were installed in the middle of pedestrian paths, roads and shoulder points. "If this is permitted there is no reason why the ad agencies should not be permitted from carrying out their business in the existing manner," the court observed in its order. C S Kaptan, appearing for NMC, assured the court that the kiosks would be removed if the NMC has given any contract to the ad agency as alleged.