Illegal Hoardings: BJP Corporator Agrees To Pay Rs.24 Lakh To MCGM For Roughing Up Civic Squad Removing Illegal Hoardings

A sitting BJP corporator from Andheri has agreed to pay Rs.24 lakh as compensation to the Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai (MCGM) in a contempt petition filed by the civic body against him regarding an incident in Andheri where his supporters assaulted a BMC civic squad that was removing illegal hoardings in compliance with high court orders.

A bench of Justice AS Oka and Justice MS Sanklecha was hearing the matter. Previously, Justice Oka had asked Patel whether he was willing to give an unconditional apology and adequately compensate the staff who sustained injuries when Murarji Patel's supporters assaulted them. Initially, Patel was reluctant but on Wednesday he filed an affidavit containing an apology and committed to paying Rs.24 lakh. However, Patel sought two months' time to pay the money.

In an important order dated January 31, 2017, a bench headed by Justice Oka had directed all municipal bodies in the state to ensure that no fresh illegal hoardings are erected and remove the ones that already exist.

The said illegal hoardings were erected by an organization called Jivan Jyoti Pratishthan and Patel is the chairman. These hoardings were erected on a municipal ground and a pedestrian walkway. While the civic squad was assaulted by Patel's supporters, they also broke the camera of BMC license inspector Uttam Sarwade, who was also present on the spot.

The bench then directed Patel to remove the illegal hoardings from the said area and told him to register a complaint with the MCGM about any other illegal hoardings. In the affidavit, Patel has stated that he would check his area for illegal hoardings every week.

The court concluded that Patel deserved leniency. However, it refused to drop the contempt proceedings as Patel had sought two weeks to pay the compensation amount. The court has also directed the MCGM to use the compensation amount appropriately to pay the staff that was part of the civic squad which was assaulted.