Party workers put up illegal posters to welcome leaders

NAGPUR: State's second capital is all set to host the winter session of the legislature from Monday. A majority of leaders, including the chief minister Prithviraj Chavan, deputy CM Ajit Pawar and other senior leaders have already arrived. The rest of the leaders are expected to arrive today.
To welcome their leaders, the workers owing allegiance to the various political parties have put up hundreds of illegal hoardings, banners and posters at all the major squares and market places, said some citizens.
In blatant violation of the directives of the Nagpur bench of Bomabay High court, the political workers have erected posters and hoardings atop traffic signals and compound walls of various offices on the VIP and other roads.
The rapid increase in the number of illegal banners, posters and hoardings in the city points to the lackadaisical attitude of Nagpur Municipal Corporation (NMC) and the city police. The trend has increased with the onset of the winter assembly session.
TOI had been continuously tracking the issue since last year. It had time and again highlighted the fact how HC's orders are being blatantly violated by the law makers. Despite making numerous complaints to the police and also NMC, the residents rue that no action has been taken against the menace.
A lawyer, Vinod Tiwari, had recently sent contempt notices to the collector Saurabh Rao, former commissioner of police Ankush Dhanvijay, NMC commissioner Shyam Wardhane and deputy commissioner Rizwan Siddiqui over the issue. However, the scenario remains the same. The officials are yet to wake up from their deep slumber.
Citizens have blamed NMC and the cops for giving an impetus to these illegalities. NGO Parivartan's Dinesh Naidu, who had filed a contempt petition (No 256/2010) a couple of years back, slammed the judiciary for not acting on its own orders despite the fact that such illegal hoardings, welcome gates, arches, and pandals are seen every year during assembly session, festival times and elections.
NMC commissioner Shyam Wardhane refused to comment on the issue stating that he is on leave. He diverted all queries to NIT chairman Pravin Darade, who was holding the additional charge of NMC. Even deputy commissioner Rizwan Siddiqui diverted queries on this contentious issue.
What does the HC verdict say?
Nagpur bench of Bombay High Court while hearing a PIL filed by social worker Manohar Khorgade (6181/2008) clearly ruled that "no permission even for temporary period shall be accorded by authorities empowered under Nagpur Municipal Corporation Act and/or Bombay Police Act for erecting any pandals, welcome gates, arches, stages of temporary nature or otherwise causing or likely to cause obstruction, disruption or to adversely affect free flow of traffic vehicular or otherwise on any public streets, roads within the area of NMC". A division bench comprising justices AP Lavande and Pramod Kode had also asked the NMC and police commissioners to ensure that no such structures come up in NMC jurisdiction through their subordinate officers and also fix accountability on them in their respective areas.