‘Spineless’ MBMC rolls out red carpet for hoarding defaulters

DIFFERENT YARDSTICKS While common taxpayers are always at the receiving end, private agencies are allowed to saddle the advertising wing with crores in arrears.

The Mira Bhayandar Municipal Corporation (MBMC) has different yardsticks when it comes to recovering taxes and dues from the common men and influential out-of-home (OOH) advertising agencies, who have been awarded rights to install hoardings across the twin-city. It a shocking MBMC’s advertising department has not only turned a blind eye to the multi-crore arrears saddled on the civic body by defaulting ad agencies, but has virtually rolled out a red carpet for the agencies by granting illegal extensions sans mandated price escalations.

The civic advertising department is already under the scanner for ignoring audit objections for non-submission of yearly records related to arrears and a list of defaulting agencies. While the arrears was pegged at Rs58 lakh in 2015, the amount has now run into crores of rupees, said a civic official, requesting anonymity.

“The mounting arrears are indeed a cause for concern. I have directed the concerned department to slap notices on defaulters, failing which their hoardings will be confiscated and recovey proceedings initiated in accordance to the law,” the deputy civic chief, Deepak Pujari said.

The MBMC has tagged licences to 350 hoardings and cantilevers. Considering the presence of illegal ones, the actual figure could be high. It has been alleged the civic officials are hand-in-glove with the agencies, allowing them to compromise on safety parameters and facilitate manipulations, thus causing a huge revenue loss to the exchequer.