Maharashtra govt to unveil new policy for Mumbai hoardings after Ghatkopar incident
Minister Samant has assured to investigate the Shiv Sena (UBT)-led government's role in giving permits to the allegedly illegal hoardings
Maharashtra minister Uday Samant on Monday announced that the state government is set to unveil a new policy regarding hoardings in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR) during legislative assembly meeting.
“A policy will be unveiled once the code of conduct for the legislative council polls ends after the results are declared for the graduates and teachers constituencies,” the minister said.
ALSO READ | Ghatkopar hoarding was over 1.5 times permitted size
Samant revealed this during a discussion in the assembly about the hoarding collapse in Ghatkopar area in Mumbai which claimed the lives of 17 people last month.
Former Allahabad high court chief justice Dilip Bhosle is investigating the collapse which took place on May 13, the industry minister added.
BJP MLA Ram Kadam urged to probe the role of Bhavesh Bhinde and Uddhav Thackeray after the Shiv Sena (UBT) chief was photographed with Bhinde, who owns the company that erected the hoarding.
ALSO READ | Mumbai hoarding collapse: 14 dead, 74 injured in Ghatkopar; FIR registered | Latest updates
Minister Samant assured to investigate the previous government's role in permits given to hoardings.
With 306 out of 1,025 hoardings in Mumbai being built on railway land, Samant pointed out that permissions are not granted from the civic authorities to erect hoardings there.
BJP leader Ashish Shelar alleged that hoarding owners received favours from the government in the form of subsidies and a 50 per cent waiver on their license, thus demanding an inquiry into hoardings erected since the COVID-19 pandemic.
Shelar added, “According to a report by the IIT, drivers face inconvenience due to the intense light of LED hoardings. Will this be taken into serious consideration? Permissions were granted to install LED on hoardings during the pandemic.”
Out of the 1,025 big hoardings in Mumbai, 179 are in the railway limits and they do not possess any permits from the BMC, Shelar said.
With PTI inputs
