The Kalyan Dombivli Municipal Corporation (KDMC) will be taking strict action against 13 contractors from Out of Home advertising agencies for failing to submit structural audit reports. Hoardings installed by these contractors will be taken down, and their contract renewal process will be canceled.
According to a KDMC official, the civic body had permitted 160 contractors to install hoardings in the city, out of which only 147 contractors complied by conducting structural audits. On August 2, the frame of a hoarding collapsed at Sahajanand Chowk in Kalyan West, causing minor injuries to one person and damaging multiple vehicles. KDMC alleged that the contractor did not follow standard operating procedure to maintain the hoarding site.
Tushar Sonawne, Assistant Municipal Commissioner of KDMC, said, “We will be taking strict action against the contractors for failing to conduct structural audits. We will consider their billboards illegal, and the hoardings will be taken down.”
The Mahatma Phule Police Station registered a case under Section 125 (Act endangering life or personal safety of others), Section 125A (causing hurt), and Section 324 (2) (causing damage) of the BNS. The complaint was filed by the ward officer of KDMC against owners of Guru Advertising.
In May, the collapse of an illegal ad hoarding in Ghatkopar, which killed 14 and injured over 75 people, shook the entire nation. The illegal billboard was roughly 120×120 feet—nearly three times the permitted size of 40×40 feet.
Since then, multiple cities in the country have been taking stringent actions against the placement, size, legality, and structure of hoardings. Civic bodies in cities including Delhi, Chennai, Pune, Kolhapur, and Navi Mumbai have reportedly taken significant steps, including imposing penalties in many cases.