23 oversized hoardings in Mumbai start coming down

The oversized hoarding in Bandra that will come down. Pics/Ashish Raje

After the Supreme Court directed the Central Railway and the Western Railway to remove oversized and unauthorised hoardings, the authorities have identified 23 hoardings across the city and have begun the process of demolishing them. On July 10, a bench headed by Justice Sudhanshu Dhulia and Justice Ahsanuddin Amanullah of the Supreme Court had passed an order in a plea moved by the BMC claiming that the railway authorities had not abided by the notices issued on May 15. The court had directed the railway authorities that the BMC's notices should be followed in "letter and spirit" and had scheduled the next hearing for four weeks later.

The same hoarding displaying an ad

Subsequently, the railway authorities took action, identified 23 hoardings across the city, and began the process of demolishing them. "We informed the advertisers that the hoardings are oversized and told them to remove them," said the chief public relations officer of Western Railway. According to Western Railway, they have identified five hoardings across Goregaon, Bandra, and Charni Road. "All these hoardings were oversized, and we are removing them," the CPRO added.

The authorities are also in the process of demolishing a huge 100-foot hoarding near Bandra station. "We are adhering to the SC guidelines and are removing the hoardings in the Bandra area," said the WR official. The Central Railway has identified 18 such oversized hoardings and has begun the process of removing them. "The 18 hoardings are across the city; some of them are in Chunabhatti, Tilaknagar, and Sion. The process of demolishing them has begun," said the Chief Public Relations Officer of Central Railway.

CR agreed to install hoardings within permissible range. Pic/Ashish Raje

On May 13, a hoarding collapsed on the BPCL Petrol Pump in Ghatkopar's Pantnagar area. On May 15, two days after the incident, the BMC had issued notices to Western Railway and Central Railway to conduct structural audits of the hoardings that are above 40 by 40 feet and to demolish them, as this is the permissible limit for hoardings. However, the railway authorities had not removed the hoardings as the matter was pending in the Supreme Court.

After the Supreme Court hearing, the BMC issued a notice to Central Railway for installing hoardings beyond the permissible size in the Tilak Nagar area and instructed them to strictly adhere to the permissible limit. Central Railways agreed to install hoardings within the permissible range. "We will stick to the Supreme Court guidelines and keep the hoardings within the prescribed range," said a CR official.