Data Collection Laws: Societies Violating Data Collection Laws on PCMC Radar

Pune: The Pimpri Chinchwad Municipal Corporation has urged housing societies and owners of private buildings under its jurisdiction to follow norms on pole collection policy while allowing construction of structures for advertisements. The civic body said it would impose fines and take legal action against companies that fail to comply with these norms. with the standards. The move comes after the civic body moved against illegal fencing following the slope collapse incident in Mumbai’s Ghatkopar area. In a circular issued on Thursday, the civic body said permission to erect fencing on residential buildings will be granted only after completion of structural work and a building stability certificate issued by the government or a structural engineer approved by the Pimpri Chinchwad Municipal Corporation is prepared. In addition, the resolution adopted at the general meeting of the housing cooperative body will also be mandatory, which will be treated as the consent of all residents living in the community, the official said. “All these rules are already included in the Maharashtra Municipal Corporations (Regulation and Control of Display of Sky Signs and Advertisements) Rules, 2022, but there will be strict enforcement in our jurisdiction after the recent incident reported in Ghatkopar,” a senior sign department officer said heaven in Pimpri Chinchwad Municipal Corporation. Pune Municipal Corporation officials said they are taking action against illegal hoardings, wherever they are located. Madhav Jagtap, deputy municipal commissioner and head of the celestial sign department at PMC, told TOI, “There is no need to issue a separate circular for housing societies as all norms regarding property collection policy are already in place. We take action against all illegal signs, regardless of where they are located in the city. In the last 10-12 days, we have removed a total of 121 hoardings across the city and issued notices to 205 owners.”He said that a large number of hoardings in Pune city are mainly located on buildings and very few are erected on open plots. “Our teams are carrying out an inventory of all hoardings and in this regard, action, such as issuing notices, will be taken against all illegal hoardings, including those located in housing societies,” he added. Many housing societies, mainly those located along major roads or highways, are allowing hoarding owners to construct advertising structures to generate revenue that will help defray the cost of running the community and residents will have to pay less for the same, officials of the Pimpri Chinchwad Municipal Corporation observed during a recent surveys. “We have appealed to societies to adhere to norms that will ensure that illegal hoardings are not displayed on their buildings. We have also mentioned in our circular what action we will take to make the public aware of this,” Sandip Khot, deputy municipal commissioner and head of the celestial signs department of PCMC, told TOI. According to city officials, legal action under Section 366 of the IPC, Section 3 of the Maharashtra Prevention of Destruction of Property Act along with other relevant sections of the Municipal Corporations Act and other relevant Acts will be initiated against building societies found violating the norms. Dattatray Deshmukh, Chairman Federation of Pimpri Chinchwad Housing Societies, said the municipal corporation should also declare the number of housing societies that allow hoardings on their buildings as there are few that follow the practice and should also disclose the number of illegal hoardings on such buildings. “The municipal corporation should remove all illegal gardens, regardless of where they are located, as they also pose a threat to residents living near them. City authorities should focus on enforcing regulations, not just appealing to citizens, he said.