23 December,2009 08:52 AM IST | | Vivek Sabnis
Pune Municipal Corporation loses Rs 14.9 crore annually by allowing politicians' side kicks to put up messages to appease party bigwigs
Had the Pune Municipal Corporation not been bothered about keeping political chamchas in good spirits, it could have added Rs 14.9 crore to its treasury annually.
A MiD DAY investigation found that while on one hand, merely 2,000 hoardings put up by companies and local business owners fetched the PMC around Rs 5 crore in a year, triple the amount of chamcha hoardings didn't get even 1 per cent of equivalent business.
"Compared to business hoardings, 6,500 chamcha hoardings fetched the PMC just Rs 10 lakh annually," Ramesh Shelar, Head, Sky Sign Department, PMC told MiD DAY.
According to Shelar, the demand made by political parties could not be refused.
The hoardings put up by politicians' side kicks are basically greetings for birthdays, anniversaries or congratulatory messages to appease party members.
In fact, the permission is given for such hoardings under section 244, 245 of the BPMC Act of 1949.u00a0 PMC gives permission to political side kicks if they furnish relevant papers, and a nominal fee is charged to them.
"The charges range from Rs 60 to 100 for 8 to 15 days," said D H Shinde, Sky Sign Department PMC. On the other hand, the PMC charges Rs 5,000 and can go up to even Rs 50,000 for business hoardings to be put up in the city.
"All political party leaders and their supporters block prime locations with their posters and hoardings.
Sometimes these hoardings even block traffic lights and traffic sign boards," said Satish Kulkarni, a resident from Narayan Peth.
