Indore High Court Mandates Removal of Illegal Hoardings from Public Spaces
The Indore bench of the Madhya Pradesh High Court has issued a significant directive to the Indore Municipal Corporation (IMC) commissioner, ordering the identification and removal of all hoardings installed on road dividers and footpaths that violate established regulations. This interim order was passed on Tuesday by a division bench comprising Justice Vijay Kumar Shukla and Justice Alok Awasthi.
Petition Highlights Widespread Violations of Advertisement Rules
The court's action came in response to a petition filed by Sudesh Gupta, represented by counsel Abhinav Dhanodkar. The petition alleged that the allotment of advertising rights and the subsequent installation of unipoles and hoardings across Indore are in direct contravention of the Madhya Pradesh Outdoor Advertisement Media Rules, 2017.
Key allegations in the petition include:
- Hoardings have been illegally placed on road dividers and footpaths, obstructing pedestrian pathways and posing safety hazards.
- These installations violate specific provisions of the 2017 rules, which explicitly prohibit advertisements in such public spaces.
- Photographic evidence submitted with the petition visually documents numerous instances of hoardings standing on dividers, footpaths, and other restricted areas throughout the city.
Court Directs Immediate Action and Issues Notices to Respondents
After considering the submissions and evidence presented, the bench directed the IMC commissioner to take the following actions:
- Identify all hoardings installed on road dividers and footpaths that are in violation of applicable rules.
- Take appropriate legal action against these illegal installations in accordance with the law.
The court also ordered that notices be issued to all respondents in the case, with a returnable period of four weeks. This gives the municipal authorities and other concerned parties a month to respond to the allegations and outline their compliance plans.
This judicial intervention comes at a critical time when urban spaces across Indian cities are increasingly cluttered with unauthorized advertisements. The Madhya Pradesh Outdoor Advertisement Media Rules, 2017 were specifically designed to regulate outdoor advertising and maintain public safety and aesthetics.
The petitioner's counsel emphasized that the rules clearly state that hoardings cannot be placed on road dividers or footpaths, as these installations can obstruct visibility for drivers, create obstacles for pedestrians, and generally degrade the urban environment. The photographic evidence presented to the court reportedly shows numerous examples of such violations across different parts of Indore.
This case highlights the ongoing challenge of enforcing urban planning regulations in rapidly growing cities. The court's directive puts pressure on municipal authorities to enforce existing rules more rigorously and could set a precedent for similar actions in other cities facing comparable issues with unauthorized outdoor advertising.
