Illegal hoardings blight skyscape

Jamshedpur: Spurt of illegal billboards erected by private companies and political parties on buildings mostly located on the main roads of the Steel City have become an eyesore, even as authorities plan pulling some of them down.
Officials said most of the illegal structures have come up under the Jamshedpur Notified Area Committee (JNAC), besides Mango and Jugsalai civic bodies after withdrawal of the Covid-19 restrictions.
JNAC special officer Krishna Kumar said a primary survey has revealed that around 150 illegal hoardings have been put up under their jurisdiction over the past one month. The civic body has formed a 13-member team to assess the situation so that help from the administration can be sought to remove illegal structures and take action against the guilty. The process might take time as the offenders have put up illegal hoardings on the Tata Steel sub-leased land. Hence, the removal requires the company’s nod. The civic body is facing an estimated loss of Rs 30 lakh per month due to the illegal hoardings, he added.
Many living on Tata Steel sub-leased land at Sonari, Sakchi, Agrico besides Uliyan and Bhatiya bustee areas have put up illegal hoardings.
SDO Dhalbhum Sandeep Kumar Meena said the guilty would be punished.
Not only are such hoardings denting the income of the civic bodies, they are a danger to life and property as no safety standards are being followed while being installed. Sources said during a Nor’wester, one hoarding collapsed at Sonari.
Tata Steel Utilities and Infrastructure Services Ltd. official Sukanya Das said few billboards are owned and used by Tata Steel. Mango and Jugsalai civic bodies sought time to make an assessment. Sources said there were not less than 410 such illegal billboards in each of these areas.
Meanwhile, the Ranchi Municipal Corporation being close to power corridor, officials usually try to overlook the issue or serve notices to political parties, requesting them to remove the illegal hoardings and banners. Deputy municipal commissioner Kunwar Singh Pahan said the municipal body had received a few complaints and constituted a committee to look into the matter. “We found that the hoardings were legal,” he added.
In Dhanbad, hoardings at strategic locations to attract maximum eyeballs are often a distraction for motorists, resulting in accidents in a few cases. Sources said there were around 450 authorised hoardings, out of the over 2,000 erected in the municipal area. An official said a team is in charge of hoardings and removes the illegal ones, if any, whenever needed.
The national highway and state highway crossing from Bokaro witness several hoardings, majority of which are illegal. The last demolition drive was held a decade ago. Though the township belongs to Bokaro Steel Limited (BSL), the state highway belongs to the highway authorities. The BSL management had started removing the illegal hoardings with the support of district administration about two years but the drive was stalled during the pandemic.
BSL’s chief of communication Manikant Dhan said “Upon our initiative, a joint committee of the administration and the BSL has been formed to identify the illegal hoardings, following which these will be removed.”
(Inputs by Swati Shikha, Anil Asutosh, & Divy Khare)