Thane: Hoarding owner to held responsible in case of hoarding collapse or loss of life

All hoardings and hoarding towers in the city should be structurally audited so that hoardings and trees don’t uproot during monsoon due to stormy winds and there is no loss of life or financial loss. Thane Municipal Commissioner (TMC) Abhijit Bangar directed that unauthorised metal structures should be removed from the city, if an accident occurs due to the fall of hoardings in the city, then a case of culpable homicide should be filed against the owner of the relevant hoardings company and the removal of unauthorised hoardings in the city and the trimming of dangerous tree branches at roadsides and other places should be completed immediately. It has been given to the concerned department in the meeting held on Tuesday (June 13).

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A time limit should be fixed for structural audit of hoardings in the city in a time-bound manner and structural audit of all existing hoarding towers should be done by the concerned within fifteen days. If any hoarding is found to be unsafe after a structure audit, it will be the responsibility of the concerned company to remove the hoarding immediately, even if an accident occurs and someone dies, the concerned company will be charged with culpable homicide. Also, the licensing department should search for all unauthorised hoardings in the city and take immediate action to remove the said hoardings without conducting a structural audit.

Unauthorised hoardings have been erected in various ward committee areas of the Municipal Corporation through metal structures without taking permission. All Assistant Commissioners with the help of Encroachment Department staff should take action to remove such hoardings on metal structures within 15 days as per Ward Committee.

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Pruning of dangerous tree branches should be completed without delay

Pruning of overgrown branches of trees in the city is important and it should be done consistently, and instructions were given to the tree authority department to take a daily report of how many branches of trees have been pruned in the city. A survey of dangerous trees should be done and care should be taken to ensure that it does not cause loss of life and money. Coordinate with the fire brigade to ensure that the road where the tree falls is cleared without delay during the monsoon period. Sufficient number of electric cutters and other necessary materials should be kept available, said Bangar.

Fix rates for trimming of branches of trees on private premises

It is necessary to cut dangerous trees or branches in private housing complexes and private places, because it is the duty of the Municipal Corporation to see that the owners of private housing complexes are not exploited in the said work, thus we have appointed a contractor to cut the branches of trees, in this regard the concerned department should fix the rate. Also, if the contractor is charging more money, he should be blacklisted immediately.