A total of 306 hoardings have been installed on land owned by Central and Western Railways in Mumbai. Of these, 179 hoardings are on Central Railway land, while 127 hoardings are on Western Railway land. Shockingly, information about the ownership of 68 hoardings on Central Railway land and 35 hoardings on Western Railway land is unavailable to the BMC. This startling revelation has come to light through an inquiry conducted by RTI activist Anil Galgali under the Right to Information (RTI) Act.
Anil Galgali had sought various details regarding hoardings from the Licensing Superintendent’s Office of the Mumbai Municipal Corporation. In response, the Licensing Superintendent’s Office provided detailed statistics on hoardings installed on the lands of Central, Western, and Harbour Railways.
There are 127 hoardings on Western Railway land. Out of these, 3 are in A Ward, 1 in D Ward, 2 in G South, 12 in G North, 2 in K East, 1 in K West, 10 in P South, and 4 in R South. There are 35 hoardings on Western Railway land that have no known owner. There are 179 hoardings on Central Railway land, of which 5 are in E Ward, 10 in F South Ward, 2 in G North Ward, 9 in L Ward, and 42 in T Ward. Of these, 68 hoardings on Central Railway land have no known owner.
According to Anil Galgali, following the Ghatkopar incident, it is crucial for the administration to maintain transparency. Additionally, full compliance with municipal regulations is necessary. “The hoarding mafia is active in Mumbai, and an IAS officer was transferred recently from the licensing department due to pressure from the mafia for their positive stance on the new advertising policy of the BMC. This was done so that financial transactions could continue smoothly without seeking permission” Galgali alleged.
