Aparajita Sarangi, a Member of Parliament from the Bharatiya Janata Party, has alleged that the Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) was adopting partisan approach in the removal of hoardings and posters installed by various political parties.
The BMC has been actively levying hefty fines for the placement of unauthorised posters and hoardings on city walls. Despite the long-standing restriction on unauthorised hoardings in Bhubaneswar, the BMC has intensified its efforts to enforce the regulation in recent times.
“Hoardings had been put up by all of us conveying New Year Greetings to the residents of Bhubaneswar. I have been watching for the past couple of days, all the hoardings put up by the ruling political party have not been removed,” Ms. Sarangi said in a letter addressed to BMC Commissioner Vijay Amruta Kulange.
“The entire city is looking awful with these green hoardings [hoardings belonging to Biju Janata Dal] littering the skyline. Under what circumstances has the BMC enforcement squad adopted a partisan approach? Under whose instructions my hoardings have been removed and ‘green’ hoardings have been allowed to remain,” Ms. Sarangi asked.
The BJP MP said she was expecting non-partisan approach from BMC Commissioner’s office which is a government entity. Enforcement squad must remove all ‘green’ hoardings from all parts of the city as soon as possible, she emphasised.
Responding to questions about the hoarding removal allegations, Mr. Kulange stated, “We have initiated the removal of all hoardings. Once we reach lanes and by-lanes, the enforcement squad will take down the hoardings.”
With elections approaching, the BMC faces the challenge of maintaining its enforcement efforts. The BMC Commissioner noted, “During elections, the guidelines for displaying hoardings and posters will be governed by the instructions of the Election Commission of India.”
Opposition leaders, however, charged that the removal of Ms. Sarangi’s poster highlighted how the ruling party was allegedly exploiting government machinery to its advantage.
