Drive against illegal hoardings can continue: High Court
Special Correspondent
Those covered by apex court’s interim order of status quo can remain
CHENNAI: The Madras High Court has ruled that the State Government is free to proceed with its drive against all unauthorised hoardings in the city, except those covered by the Supreme Court’s interim order of status quo.
The First Bench added, “it is obvious that if the location is changed, such hoardings are not entitled to any protection of the Supreme Court order of status quo as applications are made in respect of specified places.”
The First Bench, comprising Chief Justice A.P. Shah and Justice P. Jyothimani, passing orders on public interest litigation petitions, also took note of the fact that the Government had taken a policy decision and that police and revenue officials had undertaken a special drive to remove all unauthorised hoardings.
Recording the submissions of senior counsel for the Tamil Nadu Private Site Hoarding Owners Association that all the 704 applications of its members were covered by the Supreme Court order, the Bench said, “The State Government is, therefore, directed not to remove any of those hoardings, in respect of which applications have been made as per the order of the Supreme Court on April 15, 2001.”
Digital banners
As for digital banners put up by political parties, Advocate-General R. Viduthalai informed the court that the State Government had taken a policy decision not to permit them beyond five days: three days before and two days after political meetings.
The Judges said that when the Division Bench of the Madras High Court first delivered a judgment in the matter in 1996 there were only 598 hoardings in Chennai.
But, pursuant to the direction of the Supreme Court, dated April 15, 2001, a total of 3,748 applications were received by the State Government within the time prescribed by the Supreme Court.
Of these, 1,657 applications sought licence for erecting new hoardings.
Taking advantage
The order read: “It, however, appears that taking advantage of the status quo order of the Supreme Court, thousands of hoardings have been unauthorisedly erected all over the city, and these hoarding-owners are now claiming protection of the status quo order of the Supreme Court.”
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