GHMC wakes up to hoardings’ threat

Hyderabad, May 30 : GHMC Commissioner MT Krishna Babu has directed all the 2,684 hoardings owners/agencies under GHMC limits to submit their structural design along with their structural stability certificate within seven days of time.

At the onset of monsoon season and collapse of three hoardings in the city, the Commissioner held a review meeting with the Engineer-in-Chief and advertisement wing officials in his chambers today. The Commissioner has informed that GHMC will get the details furnished by the agencies cross checked by independent agencies such as JNTU and Osmania universities and draw conclusions regarding the stability of the hoardings.

The GHMC Commissioner directed the Deputy Commissioners of Circles 8 and 9 to issue notices to Prakash Arts (2 hoardings in Nizam College grounds) and Venkateswara Advertisement (1 hoarding in Himayat nagar) agencies, whose hoardings were collapsed yesterday, saying why action should not be initiated on them by black listing them and to the structural engineers M/s Becon Consultancy and M/s Builders & Planners, why a criminal case should not be booked against them, for issuing false stability certificate to the above hoardings. He further directed the Engineer-in-Chief to get the verification of structural design and stability of the 3 collapsed hoardings within five days.

The Commissioner has also informed GHMC is not allowing shifting of hoardings, to the nearby areas, which were removed on enroute of Hyderabad Metro Rail Project. If they are shifted to another places they will be considered as ‘un-authorized hoardings’ and directed to the officials concerned to list out such hoardings and their agencies, he added. The Commissioner has also informed that he will be holding a review meeting on 3rd June with the municipal standing counsel, to discuss the court cases pertaining to advertisement wing. INN