Residents sign petition against hoardings along Coastal Road

Residents also urged the authorities to conduct public consultations before decisions that affected public spaces were taken

MUMBAI: More than 1,000 residents of Breach Candy and Napean Sea Road have signed a petition objecting to the approval given to erecting advertising hoardings along Mumbai’s Coastal Road. The approval was recently granted by the Maharashtra Coastal Zone Management Authority (MCZMA) to the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), which would earn a colossal sum in revenue from these hoardings. The BMC proposes to erect hoardings at three places along the Coastal Road – at Tata Garden, Amarsons Garden and Lala Lajpatrai Park. Residents want the approval revoked.

Hoardings are set to come up at 3 locations near Tata Garden, Amarsons Garden and Lala Lajpatrai Park (Raju Shinde / HT Photo)

They have cited aesthetical reasons, commuter safety, light pollution and environmental concerns in their online petition addressed to chief minister Devendra Fadnavis and local MLA Mangal Prabhat Lodha. “We, the residents of Breach Candy, Napean Sea Road, and concerned citizens of Mumbai, write this petition with deep distress and strong opposition to the recent approval of advertising hoardings along the city’s prestigious Coastal Road,” wrote Rajesh Dahiya, a member of the Breach Candy Residents Forum (BCRF), in the petition that gained hundreds of signatures soon after it was published.

The MCZMA had granted permission for the hoardings at Tata Garden in Breach Candy and Lala Lajpat Rai Park near Haji Ali along the landward side of the Coastal Road, provided they are not erected in spaces marked for ‘no-development’, in garden areas, as the area falls under the Coastal Regulation Zone-2 (CRZ-2).

The hoardings can “seriously distract drivers, increasing the risk of accidents. These hoardings’ vibrant and often flashing lights can momentarily blind drivers or divert their focus, leading to potentially life-threatening situations,” wrote Dahiya, adding that the increased light pollution would affect the residents and nocturnal life nearby.

He went on to call the hoardings a “stain on the Coastal Road’s beauty”, saying, “Plastering the Coastal Road with gaudy advertisements will mar its visual appeal, making it an eyesore instead of a symbol of progress.”

In an ecologically sensitive area, Dahiya claimed, the hoardings ignore past Supreme Court orders “aimed at curbing visual pollution and maintaining the sanctity of such spaces”. Such permissions prioritise commercial interests over ecological preservation and public good, he said. It would set a dangerous precedent.

While demanding that the approval be revoked, residents also urged the authorities for public consultations before decisions that affected public spaces were taken. “As custodians of public trust, we hope that you will take decisive action to reverse this decision and ensure that the Coastal Road remains a legacy of innovation and sustainability, not an avenue for visual and ecological degradation,” said Dahiya, in the petition.

Tenders were first floated by the BMC in April 2023. This is the second time residents have submitted a petition against the proposed hoardings.