No poles should be erected on pavements, streets to put up banners: HC

In an order that might save the city roads from being frequently damaged, the Madras High Court has ordered that “no poles shall be erected on pavements and/or streets for putting up such (paper/cloth) banners and that “no placard, banner, board and so on should obstruct pedestrian or vehicular movement in any manner whatsoever.”

The first Division Bench of Chief Justice Indira Banerjee and Justice A. Selvam has directed the Greater Chennai Corporation and the city police to ensure that banners are tied with strings and erected across the streets, on specific occasions, and maintained at a considerable height so that they do not end up disturbing movement of vehicles.

The order was passed while closing a suo motu public interest litigation petition.

The court had taken up the case suo motu on the basis of three letters written by activist ‘Traffic’ K.R. Ramaswamy to the Chief Justice complaining about several flex boards erected across the city in view of former Chief Minister Jayalalithaa’s birth anniversary celebrations on February 24.

In his letters, the activist claimed that several flex boards had been erected illegally between Kalaivanar Arangam at Wallajah Road, where the celebrations were held and Fort St. George. He claimed that those boards had been erected by All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) as well as Bharatiya Janata Party workers since Prime Minister Narendra Modi participated in the celebrations.

He had also pointed out to similar flex boards erected around the AIADMK headquarters on Avvai Shunmugam Salai in Royappettah as well as on TTK Road and accused the police of turning a blind eye to the illegality.

When the suo motu case was heard for the first time on March 1, the Chief Justice came down heavily on the police and the corporation officials for permitting illegal erection of flex boards. She wondered how could the official machinery permit political parties to erect such boards abutting the roads and blocking the walkway on pavements.

“I myself saw many illegal hoardings on my way to the airport on Saturday. It was such a narrow pavement, yet the entire pavement was blocked. What was being done by the Corporation? What was being done by the police?” she asked.

Subsequently, a status report was filed in the court stating that all offending flex boards had been removed.