MADURAI: The Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court on Tuesday directed the Tamil Nadu government to take steps to remove all illegal flex boards, hoardings and arches erected in public roads, passages and pedestrian pathways across the state.
A bench comprising Justices SM Subramaniam and G Arul Murugan gave the direction on a public interest litigation (PIL) petition filed by T Arularasan of Nagapattinam.
Arularasan stated that after a techie’s death was caused by an illegal flex board in Chennai in 2019, the Madras High Court had directed the government to immediately remove all flex boards, arches, display boards, hoardings and placards, etc which were erected abutting highways, public streets and pedestrian pavements across the state.
But the order has been grossly violated by political parties and the government, Arularasan alleged. He requested the court to initiate action against all persons involved in the illegal erection of such structures forthwith and forbear their erection without permission in future.
Hearing the plea, the judges observed that the competent authorities from police, revenue and local bodies are bound to prevent and remove such illegal and dangerous hoardings, arches and banners in public places.
Public servants get salary from taxpayers’ money and therefore must look into and take action on such matters diligently. If the authorities fail to do so, it amounts to dereliction of duty.
In case of untoward incidents occurring due to this failure, the authorities concerned should be prosecuted and subjected to disciplinary proceedings, the judges added.Directing authorities to immediately remove all such dangerous structures, the judges said the government must ensure the order is executed and people are not forced to approach the court regarding the issue in future.