Licence department upset with Ganeshotsav mandals for installing political banners in violation of their guidelines, feels Navratri mandals might follow suit
This Navratri, there is a good chance that not a single mandal will get permission from the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) to display banners, thanks to the violation of norms related to displaying banners and hoardings by Ganeshotsav mandals in the city.
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Despite issuing guidelines to mandals that strictly prohibited political hoardings within 100 metres of the pandals, civic officials said almost all the mandals flouted their diktat. Senior officials said the licence department took serious note of the violation and is now considering application of a blanket ban on installation of banners and hoardings during Navratri.
Several mandals in the city displayed political banners like these, thus flouting the norms laid down by the BMC. Pics/Datta Kumbhar
The department is of the opinion that there is every possibility that Navratri mandals will flout the norms, like the Ganpati mandals did. Expressing his displeasure over installation of political banners, licence superintendent Sharad Bande said the department had not issued permission to any of the mandals to display banners that were even remotely related to politics. “Now that the norms have been flouted, we will think whether to grant permission (for banners) during Navratri or not,” he said.
Action initiated
Commenting on the issue, Additional Municipal Commissioner Mohan Adtani said, “A lot of illegal banners have been installed and I have ordered my staff to get rid of them right away, and to prosecute the offenders. We had issued permissions only for displaying sponsorship banners, not political, within 100 metres of the pandal.”
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