By giving top priority to civic safety and at the same time, the city will not face any problem, henceforth, advertisement boards will be allowed. Provisions will be included in the billboard policy for that purpose. Therefore, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) Commissioner Bhushan Gagrani has taken a firm stance that new advertisement boards will not be allowed immediately.
A meeting was held on Thursday evening with the representatives of various agencies in the hall of the Municipal Corporation Commissioner to prevent a repeat of the incident like the advertisement board collapse in Ghatkopar. Speaking from the chair at that time, the commissioner clarified this position. The municipal administration has directed the railway administration to remove irregularly sized advertisement boards from their limits. The BMC commissioner reiterated in this meeting that it is mandatory to follow the standards set by the civic body and the traffic police to put up advertisement boards in any government or private place in Mumbai and not only railways.
Additional Municipal Commissioner (City) Dr. Ashwini Joshi, Joint Commissioner of Police (Traffic) Anil Kumbhare, Municipal Deputy Commissioner (Special) Kiran Dighavkar, Commercial Manager of Western Railway Vineet Abhishek, Central Railway representative and experts from IIT Mumbai Prof. Abhijeet Maji, Prof. Nagendra Rao Velga, Prof. Sreekumar, Municipal Licensing Superintendent Anil Kate etc. were present.
In the wake of the Ghatkopar billboard tragedy, a discussion was held on the occasion about the billboards in the premises of various government agencies across Mumbai. Officials of Railways as well as other authorities also raised their administrative issues.
After that the BMC Commissioner Gagrani said, though the accident site in Ghatkopar is not under the jurisdiction of Central or Western Railway, both these large advertisement boards are under the jurisdiction of the railway administration. The court order also states that it is mandatory to follow all the standards set by the Municipal Corporation in the case of advertisement boards. Along with that, the permission of the traffic police is also required. Even if the relevant government authorities prepare their standardised procedures, it is mandatory to follow the standards set by the Municipal Corporation. Also, as a Disaster Management Authority, the Municipal Corporation will not hesitate to implement the Disaster Management Act even in the case of advertisement boards from time to time, the Commissioner also said at this time.
Distracted by digital boards
Joint Commissioner of Police (Traffic) Kumbhare said that along with traditional billboards, digital billboards also need to be considered for civil safety. Because the speed of conversion of traditional billboards to digital billboards is increasing. Complaints are received that such digital billboards occasionally cause distraction to motorists and citizens, especially in the evening and at night. Therefore, Kumbhare expressed the hope that the advertisement policy should also be considered accordingly. Even the traffic police will not allow new billboards until a comprehensive policy is in place, he added.
Committee to decide new policy
An expert committee has been constituted under the chairmanship of Additional Municipal Commissioner (City) on behalf of Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation to formulate an effective policy regarding advertisements and digital hoardings. The committee is proposed to include Joint Commissioner of Police (Traffic), Deputy Commissioner of Municipal Corporation (Special), Licensing Superintendent, one representative from a designated expert organisation on environment, two expert members from IIT Mumbai, one expert representative from Department of Industrial Alignment, IIT Mumbai. Kiran Dighavkar informed that this committee will conduct a comprehensive study and submit a report in accordance with the advertising policy of the Municipal Corporation.
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