Chennai: Several banners and hoardings erected across the city were knocked off during the rain on Thursday, endangering the lives and limbs of road-users and residents. The local bodies have now begun a drive to remove all the illegal structures across the city.At Maduravoyal, a steel advertisement structure fell on an electricity distribution structure near a bus stop. Several passengers waiting for the bus had to run for their lives, and the structure also damaged compound walls of houses.Similarly, in Tambaram corporation, several political and private banners fell onto the road obstructing commuters. A banner covered up the windshield of a moving vehicle on the 200 Feet Pallavaram-Thoraipakkam Radial road.GCC commissioner G S Sameeran said they have levied ₹1 lakh penalty on the owner of the hoarding in Maduravoyal. “From Saturday onwards, we have asked all zones to start a drive to remove the unauthorised hoardings from the city. The owner of the hoardings will be liable to pay the cost,” the commissioner told TOI.The civic body on Friday issued fixed hoarding-cutting charges at ₹22 per sq ft for structures up to the first floor, ₹26 per sqft up to the second floor, ₹29 per sqft up to the third floor and ₹33 per sqft for structures above the third floor.Transportation of removed metal structures through 5 MT HMV tippers has been fixed at ₹5,250 per eight-hour shift, while crane charges have been set at ₹750 per hour. All rates exclude GST.The corporation said the removed structures should be weighed and shifted to designated storage locations within respective regions, with details including weight and storage location submitted to the mechanical engineering department through zonal officers for disposal through auction.GCC also directed officials to recover removal and transportation costs from the advertisement companies responsible for the hoardings or, if necessary, from property owners, apart from collecting penalties for the unauthorised installations.Zonal officers have been instructed to ensure machinery use is properly monitored and geo-tagged with latitude-longitude data and supported with before-and-after photographs. Work completion certificates from division and zonal engineers must accompany bills before payments are processed from zonal funds.The commissioner said the removal drive will continue round-the-clock, and strict action will be taken on violators.
