Chennai: Illegal bus stop hoardings point to scam by minor politicos

Chennai: In the backdrop of Supreme Court and the Madras High Court banning hoardings in Chennai, politicians and former councillors in Chennai are now involved in a money swindling racket by assisting private advertisers to put up illegal hoardings in bus shelters maintained by Chennai Corporation.

A visit by this newspaper to a few bus shelters in south Chennai revealed that aesthetic vinyl advertisement boards and hoardings have mushroomed in the bus shelters without the knowledge of the Corporation deputy commissioners and senior engineers. There are more than 1,200 bus stops in Chennai.

Requesting not to be quoted, a few corporation engineers attached to Kodambakkam and Alandur zones maintained that they were not aware of the illegal structures and told this correspondent to check out with the Metropolitan Transport Corporation Authorities on how the hoardings came up. However, informed Corporation staffers attached to zonal offices and ward offices in Saidapet and Guindy admitted the nexus between the councillors and the engineers in allowing the private advertisers to display their hoardings at government maintained bus stops. To be on the safer side, whenever there is litigation or a complaint, these structures will be removed only to be back within a few weeks, sources added.

A member of Tamil Nadu Outdoor Advertising Association admitted that regular payments are given to local heavyweights, as there is no official permission for these structures. “Most of us lost our livelihood after the court banned hoardings and digital banners in Chennai. Bus shelters and private buildings are the only lifelines left for us and the government should regularise this industry. When liquor and tobacco industries are regularised, why the less harmful hoarding industry is completely banned,” asked the advertiser wishing not to be named.

When contacted, MTC managing director V. Krishnamoorthy said that his department is no way connected with the hoardings as the installation and the maintenance of bus shelters in Chennai is managed by Chennai Corporation. “T Nagar, Saidapet and Guindy are some of the prime locations, where councillors in connivance with corporation engineers collect monthly mamool or fixed one-time payment for each illegal hoardings”, alleges Saidapet MLA and former mayor M. Subramanian. Earlier this week, I noticed several hoardings in Guindy bus stand, when I enquired about the illegal structures the field officers claimed innocence, but much to my surprise, I found the structures removed overnight, he added.

When contacted, Corporation commissioner D. Karthickeyan said a detailed enquiry will be ordered into the issue. When it comes to large sized hoardings and billboards, there is a complete ban on such structures as per the directions of the court. In the case of bus shelters, the corporation currently publicises government schemes. There is a policy to generate revenue through these structures and the issue will be examined through a deputy commissioner who has been designated to deal with the subject of hoardings, he added.