Pune: Court Orders Owners Of Illegal Billboards In Pimpri To Pay Two Years’ Amount
Pimpri, 30th April 2023: The owners of 434 illegal iron billboards (hoardings) in Pimpri-Chinchwad city are ordered by court to pay the amount of the previous two years to the municipal corporation within two weeks as per actual measurements.
The Bombay High Court disposed of the petition of the board holders, ordering that a fresh application should be made to legalize the boards.
The Pimpri Chinchwad Municipal Corporation (PCMC) issued a notice to the board owners to remove 434 illegal advertisement boards in the city.
However, the Pimpri-Chinchwad Advertising Association filed a petition in the Bombay High Court against this notice, refusing to remove the board. The court had ordered that the plaques be kept ‘as they were’.
The Municipal Corporation brought the incident of the falling of an illegal board in Kiwale to the attention of the court and requested an immediate hearing. Accordingly, the hearing was held on 25th April.
Illegal board holders should pay the amount of the previous two years to the municipality within two weeks as per the actual measurement. All board holders should apply afresh. If there are any errors in the application, the municipality should inform within eight days. The board holders should rectify the errors within 15 days. If the applicant does not complete the documents, the application should be rejected explaining the reason.
The court has ordered that if the demand amount is not paid, the license application should be canceled, and the board should be removed within ten days after the application is rejected, otherwise, the municipal corporation should remove it.
The court accepted the draft submitted by the advertisement association and the municipal corporation by mutual consent. Accordingly, further action was ordered. Therefore, illegal billboards erected in a proper manner can be regularized. The government’s policy dated 9th May 2022 has to be implemented while regularizing the boards.
Additional Commissioner Jitendra Wagh held a meeting of all the board holders on Friday (28th April) to inform them about the court order. Nilesh Deshmukh, Assistant Commissioner of Sky Signs and Licensing Department, License Inspector, and Board Holders were present.
The PCMC gave detailed information about the decision of the court to the board holders. Along with this, legal and illegal board holders should submit structural stability certificates by 6th May. Failure to submit will result in penal and criminal action.
The dimensions of 434 illegal boards in the city will be checked. For this purpose, Sky Signs and Licensing Department appointed six teams. The report about the same has been sought in two days. A separate report has also been sought within seven days after the inspection of the permitted boards.
Jitendra Wagh Additional Commissioner, PCMC informed, “The court has ordered to carry out the entire process in a time-bound manner. Municipalities and board holders are bound to follow this decision. Detailed information on the court’s decision has been given to the board holders. All further proceedings will be subject to the decision of the court.”
