1 day Ago By Alim Shaikh
Pimpri Chinchwad: Residents of Pimpri Chinchwad have now slammed PCMC for its decision to revoke licences of only those hoarding owners who've been found repeatedly trimming or chopping trees to improve visibility of ads. At least 24 hoarding owners were identified last month by the civic body's garden department, which was responding to complaints by residents and environmental activists at multiple locations. The department then sent a letter to the Sky Sign wing of PCMC recommending that the licences of these 24 hoarding owners be pulled.
Later, though, in a joint meeting with the Sky Sign department and PCMC commissioner, it was decided that action would be taken only against repeat offenders, those found trimming or cutting trees multiple times, a senior PCMC official said. "That was the decision, that only repeat offenders would lose licences. We've now asked the Garden Department to now give us the details of these hoarding owners it identified," the official said.
Environmental activists slammed the move, alleging that PCMC "was not being serious" about saving trees in the city. Madhav Patil, founder of Agholichi Goli (Bath Pill), an organization that for years has been trying to call attention to the problem, said the illegal cutting of a tree, even for the first time, was a crime. Patil said: "PCMC is acting as if it has the authority to forgive one 'murder' by these advertisers.
It should take action in the very first instance of a crime." Patil also urged the civic body to register police cases against the offenders. "Their hoarding licences should be immediately revoked, to send out a strong message," he said.
According to rules, those who own hoardings have to deposit Rs 50,000 to obtain a No Objection Certificate (NOC) from the Garden Department. "This deposit is forfeited if the advertisers violate the conditions mentioned in the NOC, such as illegal tree cutting. These cases are forwarded to the police department for legal action," a senior official from the garden department said.
"We had first proposed cancelling of licences if NOC conditions are violated. But the Sky Sign department agreed to implement the recommendation for repeat offenders," the official said. In Jan last year, PCMC had cancelled licences of seven advertisers for illegally pruning trees.
An FIR was also registered against the hoarding owners..
