PMRDA in dilemma over illegal hoardings after 700 owners apply for legalisation

Following deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar’s instructions, the PMRDA on June 20 initiated action against illegal hoardings in Hinjewadi, Mulshi, Devghat (Saswad) and Bavdhan

After more than a week of the Pune Metropolitan Regional Development Authority’s (PMRDA’s) crackdown on illegal hoardings, more than 700 hoarding owners have applied for legalisation of their hoardings leaving the PMRDA in a dilemma as it will not earn revenue from these hoardings if it takes action. So far, the PMRDA has taken action against 21 illegal hoardings.

Out of 21 illegal hoardings, five were from Mulshi, three from Hinjewadi, one from Bavdhan, and the rest were from Devghat on the Palkhi procession route. (HT PHOTO)

Following deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar’s instructions, the PMRDA on June 20 initiated action against illegal hoardings in Hinjewadi, Mulshi, Devghat (Saswad) and Bavdhan. Out of 21 illegal hoardings, five were from Mulshi, three from Hinjewadi, one from Bavdhan, and the rest were from Devghat on the Palkhi procession route. Out of the 21 illegal hoardings, the PMRDA dismantled eight hoardings while the remaining 13 hoardings were removed by their owners and advertising agencies.

There are a total 1,057 hoardings in the PMRDA region of which 472 have been deemed illegal with notices having been served to their owners. After implementing the hoarding policy, the PMRDA expects to earn around ₹50 crore annually from hoarding fees. Following the crackdown on illegal hoardings, 790 owners have approached the PMRDA for regularisation, renewal, or new permissions for their hoardings.

Sachin Maske , tashildar , PMRDA said,” At present, we are taking action on dangerous hoardings. Hoarding owners are approaching PMRDA for further permissions.”

The hoarding charges set by the PMRDA are: ₹70 per square foot per year for hoardings facing national and state highways or major district roads, and ₹60 per square foot per year for land within a 10 km radius of Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad municipal limits. The PMRDA has limited revenue sources such as building development charges and leasing of prime land to developers. Hoarding permissions are among the revenue sources. After acting on illegal hoardings, the PMRDA is worried over losing revenue.

A senior PMRDA official said, “Most hoardings are illegal because they don’t have permission from the PMRDA. Last year, we implemented a hoarding policy and asked owners and agencies to apply for legalisation of their hoardings by submitting documents and paying charges per square foot. After the Mumbai hoarding collapse incident, we issued notices to 477 illegal hoardings and began taking action. Removing hoardings is a big task which takes time and money. If we demolish the hoardings, we won’t get revenue. But if we legalise them, we will get annual revenue, which is more financially viable.”