Illegal hoardings still a headache

A thunderstorm recently pulled down an illegal hoarding of a furniture shop in Shamshabad. Despite the High Court orders and repeated directions from the municipal administration minister, GHMC officials have not removed hoardings because they are a source of income for some of them.

When contacted at the GHMC west zone, an officer confirmed that there was no permission granted from the GHMC office for the hoarding. Since part of Shamshabad area falls under the gram panchayat, the officials are not known if the permission was given by the gram panchayat authorities.

Unauthorised hoardings seem to be competing with illegal constructions in the city. In 2016, the high court came down heavily on the GHMC for their inaction against illegal advertisements. It directed officials to pull down all unauthorised hoardings. A division bench comprising acting Chief Justice Dilip B. Bhosale and Justice P. Naveen Rao , were dealing with a PIL filed by Telangana Vanarula Parirakshana Committee, seeking to declare the action of the GHMC authorities in not taking proper care and caution while granting permissions for hoardings and flex boards and collecting improper taxes as illegal.

Also through an RTI enquiry it was found that in 2015, corrupt officials earned `500 crores by permitting 6000 hoardings in the city, whereas on paper the permitted number was 2,400.

Not a single hoarding can be set up without the knowledge of the GHMC officials, the permissions are given both at zonal and head office level.