Supreme Court orders: Some, not all, ‘illegal’ billboards removed

In many areas authorities have only taken off skins and not entire structures

KARACHI: With the expiry of the Supreme Court’s deadline to remove all billboards installed on public property across the city, it seems most civic agencies have failed to implement the order in its true spirit.

At several main thoroughfares of the city, only the skins of billboards have been removed while the physical structures still occupy the public space. Moreover, at many places, billboards have not been touched by the relevant authorities on the pretext that they stand on private property and thus do not violate the court order.



The apex court had ordered to remove all the billboards from public property in the metropolis by June 30 and maintained that there was no law that permits installing outdoor advertising billboards and signboards on ‘public property’ (which was defined to include roads, sidewalks, islands in the centre of a road, overhead bridges and underpasses, roundabouts, greenbelts, road dividers and nullahs and their banks).

Implementation

Where the Cantonment Board Faisal’s (CBF) hoarding in-charge Muhammad Qasim claims to have removed all the billboards established on public property in their jurisdiction, in reality, only the skins have been removed and the structures still stand.



On a question regarding removal of skins and not the entire structures, Qasim said there are only two such spots on Sharae Faisal, under their jurisdiction. He explained that those billboards are so huge that they need heavy machinery and ample time to safely dislodge them. Due to the increased traffic flow related to Eid, he said they could not remove the two structures and will do so this week.

Earlier, the CBF had submitted a report in the Supreme Court in which it stated that 93 illegal hoardings were installed within its jurisdiction, while 31 and 33 such boards were installed on land owned by Pakistan Navy and Civil Aviation Authority, respectively.

Besides, the report said, 26 illegal signboards were installed on land belonging to the army, two on land owned by Pakistan Air Force and one on land of Pakistan Railways.

It said 14 illegal signboards were removed from Karsaz and 10 others were uprooted from Rashid Minhas Road.

Meanwhile, Cantonment Board Clifton (CBC) revenue superintendent Faisal Khan Jadoon had earlier told The Express Tribune that there were as many as 292 various types of advertisement signs in Defence Housing Authority, of which 241 had been removed. He said the remaining are placed on private property and therefore do not flout the Supreme Court’s order.

According Cantonment Board Malir’s billboard in-charge, Munawar Aleem Rana, there were 18 billboards on roads in their jurisdiction and they have all been removed now.  No official of Cantonment Board Karachi was available for comment.

District Municipal Corporation (DMC) East administrator Rehmatullah Shaikh also claimed to have removed all the billboards on public property from his district. For those established on private property, he said if they are protruding on public property they would be removed as well. “Notices have been served to all those owners whose billboards, built on private property, are violating the law by extending into public space,” he said. He earlier told The Express Tribune that there were as many as 732 billboards on public property in the district.

According to South DMC administrator Muhammad Naeem, there were as many as 182 billboards on public property in the district, all of which have been removed.

Korangi DMC administrator Nisar Somro also claimed to have removed all 170 billboards from public property. DMC West administrator Muhammad Waqar insisted that there were as many as 22 billboards in the district which they were supposed to remove as per the court order. For the billboards in district West’s SITE area, he said they fall under SITE Limited’s jurisdiction, which is a separate department of the Sindh government.

The administrator of Central DMC Asia Abro said around 698 billboards and hoardings have been removed. She said though they have not removed those signboards installed on public land, they have served notices to owners of those that are dangerous.

On a question regarding removal of skins only, she responded that she has made sure that complete structures are rooted out. However, if at some places structures could not be removed properly, it must be because of a shortage of machinery, she explained.

No grey area

Dr Raza Ali Gardezi of Shehri - Citizens for a Better Environment alleged that authorities that have failed to dislodge entire billboards and have just removed the skins have violated court orders as the Supreme Court had directed for the complete removal of billboards.

He said all billboards violating the law - be it on public or private property - have to be removed completely. “Usually billboards protrude nine to 10 feet outside on public property if they are installed on any building,” he explained, emphasising that such structures are completely illegal.

According to him, 99% of all billboards, both on public and private property, in the city violate the law.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 11^th, 2016.