SAVE THE SEA
Hoardings near beaches under court scanner …….Shibu Thomas
Mumbai: Huge towering hoardings erected near beaches or on the seaward side of a road in Mumbai marring the ocean view has come under the scanner of the Bombay high court. A division bench of Justice Bilal Nazki and Justice A R Joshi allowed an application on the issue filed by city gynaecologist Dr Anahita Pandole.
It will have to be seen, at the final stage of the case, whether a hoarding is permissible near beaches, parking lots or on any land adjacent to seacoast on seawardside of the road, said the judges overruling objections by the hoarding owners. The court further said it would also have to take note of the new hoarding guidelines framed by the BMC in 2008.
Dr Pandole had filed a public interest litigation in 2002 against unauthorised hoardings in the city. The PIL is still pending and the HC judges indicated that it will give a verdict on the issue by October 2009a deadline set by the Supreme Court.
There are over 2,800 hoardings in the city. A survey ordered by the court had found that many hoardings fell foul of the rulesmany were located on heritage buildings or precincts, some were in the coastal regulation zone (CRZ). Hoardings were also found to have violated traffic rules.
The 2008 guidelines framed by the BMC took into consideration many of the orders passed by the court from time to time. The corporation divided the city into zoneswhere the size of hoardings would be directly proportionate to the general average width of the abutting road. The hoarding could not project on to a road which did not have a footpath. Besides banning large multi-decker hoardings, the civic body has also made it mandatory for the owners to maintain a minimum distance of 20 feet. Hoardings also could not come up in heritage precincts.
The high court said it will decide whether these guidelines have a prospective or retrospective effect, meaning whether the guidelines would be applicable to the hoardings mentioned in the 2002 PIL.