Corpn officials dither over political banners

V Gopalakrishnan, an activist in KK Nagar, said that a permanent banner erected by the members of AIADMK on PT Rajan Road is yet to be removed despite sending a complaint to the civic body through Namma Chennai mobile application.

“I filed the complaint on Tuesday. But the banner was there when I checked on Thursday afternoon. There are several similar banners in the locality, some of which were removed only a few days ago,” he added. Fearing repercussions, the civic officials are removing only temporary banners while avoiding permanent banners erected by political parties using metal poles.

“Using Namma Chennai App, I raised a complaint against a banner on Anna Main Road in division 137. But the assistant engineer of the division replied that AIADMK had erected the banner in memory of late chief minister J Jayalalithaa. After pressure from the public, they now removed the banner,” Gopalakrishnan said. Despite the Chennai City Municipal Corporation Act, 1919, having clauses to levy penalty and impose one-year imprisonment, the civic body does not collect the fine amount. As of now, the officials are only removing the illegal banners and file community service register (CSR) with police.

When asked, a Corporation official claimed that they have deployed separate teams and three vehicles to remove the unauthorised banners across the city. “These teams will respond to public complaints and remove illegal banners,” he said. The executive engineer of Kodambakkam zone said that the civic body has been taking steps to remove all the banners. When they receive complaints from the public, official teams inspect the spot within 30 minutes, he claimed. Two days after Subhasri died, a statement from the Corporation had claimed that it had removedaround 4,000 illegal banners from several parts of the city and245 cases were filed.