The Hindu : Corporation drive signals new resolve

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Sunday, Jun 08, 2003

Southern States

Southern States - Tamil Nadu-Chennai

Corporation drive signals new resolve

By Saptarshi Bhattacharya

CHENNAI JUNE 7. The sudden move by the Chennai Corporation, sweeping down on unauthorised hoardings late Friday night, signals a new determination on the part of the civic body to put an end to the "looming" problem.

In all, five hoardings erected on public land along Anna Salai and near the Chennai Mofussil Bus Terminus were pulled down on Friday as they had no valid papers supporting the construction.

Armed with oxy-acetylene torches, the Corporation personnel brought down two hoardings put up at the rear entrance to the CMBT. The structures were put up by the Durga Advertising, an outdoor advertising agency, the officials said.

A third hoarding adjacent to a security cabin was spared after the advertising agency gave an undertaking that they would pull it down on Saturday.

Simultaneously, three hoardings - two of them on private land - were pulled down at Nandanam point abutting Anna Salai. The owners of these hoardings were not known, the officials said.

The present drive, in a marked difference from the practice of the last couple of years, has ushered in a new regime, as the officials said, "most of the hoardings in the city would have to disappear from the skyline as they do not conform to specifications".

Over the past months, allegations that the ruling party members including the Deputy Mayor, `Karate' R.Thiagarajan, were facilitating construction of unauthorised hoardings were made in the Council. Under pressure from the opposition parties, Mr. Thiagarajan placed a status report on hoardings in the Council which said that there were 598 hoardings after the removal of 307 hoardings from public places and 43 from railway land.

The status report presented in November last year, stated that there were 304 hoardings on railway land and 1206 on private land in the city.

The applications received by the Corporation Commissioner from the outdoor advertisers till June 15, 2001, for licensing would be scrutinised by the Chennai Collector and license would be given on merit, the Corporation officials said. (Recently, the State Government had taken off the hoardings issue from the Corporation's jurisdiction and vested it with the Collector.)

The rest of them, who do not conform to specifications, would be served notices asking them to remove the structures in 15 days.

"According to specifications, hoardings should be at least 100 metres away from road junctions, and should not be put up near educational institutions, religious places and hospitals. Going by these norms, most of the hoardings in the city will have to go," said an official of the Corporation.

The hoardings issue had landed the ruling AIADMK in the Corporation Council on a sticky wicket when the opposition parties pressed allegations against the Deputy Mayor for having facilitated the construction of unauthorised hoardings in the city.

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Southern States

Stories in this Section

Corporation drive signals new resolve

Police deny permission for Chromepet rally

Wildlife authorities take up desilting of tanks in Guindy Park

We'll wage war on use of tobacco: film industry

Semi-structures on Marina removed