Hyderabad: Municipal administration principal secretary Arvind Kumar has instructed the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation to strictly implement the Public Properties Defacement (Prevention) Act, but the corporation itself is violating the Act and promoting its programmes by erecting hoardings and flexies.
After noticing hoardings, flexies, posters and banners in January, Mr Kumar had asked the civic body to remove them immediately. He directed officials to refuse permission for unauthorised flexies conveying birthday greetings, political banners, pamphlets or posters of educational institutions such as colleges and coaching centres in residential areas, on street lamp poles and at junctions.
His instructions seem to have fallen on deaf ears, as the corporation itself has erected flexies in Secunderabad area promoting a job mela at Hari Hara Kala Bhavan from 9 am to 4pm on Monday. The corporation has erected at the Mettuguda Metro Rail station and its offices in Secunderabad zonal and circle offices.
Unauthorised hoardings have come up in Himayathnagar, Khairatabad, Kukatpally and Madhapur and even at the GHMC headquarters.
Mr Kumar had said zonal commissioners will levy a fine on institutions and persons pasting advertising material on walls of bus shelters, central divider blocks, walls of flyovers and Metro stations. Likewise, responsibility should be fixed on sanitary field assistants in their respective jurisdiction.
None of the higher authorities noticed that it was a violation of the law. They just said action would be initiated against the officials concerned. But the corporation has levied less than 10 fines despite there being hundreds of violations across the city.
When asked about the plastic ban, a senior GHMC official said the corporation had booked as many as 156 cases in February and would continue carrying out raids on violators for selling plastic below 50 microns in size.
Corporation officials are ignoring instructions from former minister and TRS working president K.T. Rama Rao to ban single-use plastic like water bottles, in government offices. Single-use plastic goods continue to be showcased at the chambers of city mayor Bonthu Rammohan and GHMC commissioner M. Dana Kishore and at zonal and circle offices.
