Observing that the city is “left to its fate” with unregulated and uncontrolled illegal hoardings, banners and flexes due to callous and negligent conduct of the officials of the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike, the High Court of Karnataka on Wednesday said that the BBMP and the State government will have to deposit ₹50,000 each in the court for every instance of unauthorised hoarding put up in the city in future.
“Does the State government and the BBMP want to show that the whole city is full of hoardings, banners and flexes, starting from airport under Brand Bengaluru? What picture are you painting for the city...” the court orally observed.
Penalty not collected
The court also expressed shock and surprise over the fact that the BBMP did not collect any penalty from those who had erected hoardings illegally even after identifying 59,413 such hoardings during the past four months and removing 58,429 of them by spending BBMP’s funds, which is taxpayers money.
Also, the court said that registration of a mere 123 complaints and 40 First Information Reports (FIRs) on nearly 60,000 hoardings erected illegally could shock the conscience of anybody when the BBMP itself has claimed that a large number of illegal hoardings, banners, etc., were put up by the supporters of political parties and personalities.
A Division Bench comprising Chief Justice Prasanna B. Varale and Justice M.G.S. Kamal made these observations while castigating the BBMP for its inaction on those who had erected hoardings illegally and failure to act against its own officers who were supposed to impose penalty on wrongdoers.
The Bench was hearing PIL petitions filed in 2017 complaining about menace of illegal hoardings, banners, flexes, etc. across the city.
‘Mere eyewash’
Terming as “a mere eyewash” the status report submitted by the BBMP on the actions taken against illegal hoardings as per a series of directions issued by the court during past six years, the Bench said that it is surprised to see the “audacity of the officers of the BBMP to submit the response under the caption compliance report. The report only shows that officers are not at all interested in taking action and are only happy with riding paper horses.”
“The picture that emerges after going through BBMP’s report is that the city is full of unregulated and uncontrolled hoardings, etc and the persons who erected such hoardings are moving scot-free and with full immunity,” the Bench observed.
Trying to avoid duty
On BBMP’s claim about its helplessness in identifying those who illegally erect hoardings, and to act on hoardings put up on private properties sans permission, the Bench said these statements are “clearly indicative of the fact that the BBMP, under the guise of its helplessness, trying to avoid its duty” when they were vested with sufficient power in law to take action in such instances.
The Bench directed the BBMP to submit details of complaints, FIRs, the proposed action to be taken by it against those who had put up nearly 60,000 hoardings, illegal, action to be initiated against the its officers who failed to prevent illegal hoardings and failed to impose penalty on them. The Bench adjourned further hearing by three weeks while directing the BBMP to submit its response.
