Pune: The repeated appeals made by chief minister Devendra Fadnavis and deputy CM Ajit Pawar, urging respective party workers to refrain from putting up illegal hoardings, seem to have had little impact as the Pune and Pimpri Chinchwad civic bodies continue to struggle with the defacement.According to data from the Pimpri Chinchwad Municipal Corporation (PCMC), the sky sign department pulled down 54,395 illegal hoardings, banners, flexes, and kiosks between April 1 and Aug 31 this year. The civic body also earned Rs 5.2 lakh through fines. PCMC officials said over 70% of these hoardings were political in nature. Two FIRs were also registered against violators during this period.The action, however, appeared slow in Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) limits as officials from the sky sign department here removed only 8,976 illegal hoardings and banners during the same period and recovered fines worth Rs 12.3 lakh. One FIR was also registered.Both Fadnavis and Pawar, during their recent visits, directed municipal officials to take strict action against those erecting unauthorised hoardings, even if they carried photographs of the CM and deputy CM.Pawar, while addressing residents in Pimpri Chinchwad last month, went a step further and urged people not to vote for candidates indulging in such unauthorised activities. The situation on the ground, however, changed little.Residents have claimed the menace is far worse than what official data reflects.“During Ganeshotsav, Dahihandi, and Eid-e-Milad, the number of banners shot up significantly. Most of them were of political aspirants eyeing the civic polls. Many officials hesitate to act due to political pressure,” a resident of Wakad said.Tanay Patekar of Angholichi Goli, an organisation working against illegal hoardings, said various initiatives launched by PCMC, including AI-based technology to track illegal hoardings, have failed.“The municipal corporation should maintain records of birthdays of prominent leaders and act proactively by preventing this act instead of waiting for their followers to deface the city,” he said.Patekar, who consistently pursued complaints with the sky sign department over unauthorised iron hoarding structures, said he recently received threat calls from one of the advertisers for raising the issue with the civic body.Activist Maruti Bhapkar said the number of unauthorised hoardings is unlikely to go down before the civic elections, as most aspirants see the boards as a tool to impress voters and demonstrate loyalty to party leaders to secure tickets. “These aspirants are not afraid of civic action. Unless political leaders themselves rein in their workers, the defacement will continue,” he said.Naval Kishore Ram, municipal commissioner of PMC, told TOI that he would examine the data to identify reasons for the slow pace of action in Pune. “We will intensify the drive and ensure strict action against unauthorised hoardings, flex and banners in the city,” he said.Ram also held a meeting with all ward officers on Tuesday, where various issues of the city, including those related to illegal hoardings ahead of the civic elections, were discussed in detail.
