Ranchi: The Ranchi Municipal Corporation (RMC) will launch a crackdown on unauthorised commercial structures encroaching on pavements and roads on Thursday night to ensure public safety and protect pedestrian rights, officials said.Over 350 unauthorised hoardings, unipoles, monopoles and advertisement boards cluttering public spaces across the state capital will be dismantled and confiscated during the drive, RMC officials said.The corporation has issued several public notices and individual warnings to defaulting advertisers and agencies. Specific instructions required the voluntary removal of all billboards, placards, and display boards mounted on divider streetlights or electric poles that hung below a height of 12 feet from the road alignment or otherwise obstructed sightlines.Detailing the enforcement, deputy municipal commissioner Ravindra Kumar said, “Compliance remained poor despite repeated opportunities and a clearly stated one-week final notice. The deadline expired on September 8, and our field surveys identified over 350 unauthorised hoardings still standing.”“With the grace period officially over, the RMC teams are moving in to clear these illegal structures. The demolition and clearance operations will be organised in a phased manner and are scheduled during nighttime hours to prevent public inconvenience, road blockades, or potential accidents,” he added.No further extensions will be granted. Civic teams will confiscate dismantled materials, and the expenses incurred during the removal operations will be billed directly to the defaulting agencies, RMC authorities stressed.Reassuring law-abiding businesses, Kumar stressed that the campaign is aimed at regulation rather than suppression. “Our goal is not to halt advertising activities, but regulate them according to established standards. Safe, unobstructed movement on city roads and footpaths cannot be compromised under any circumstances,” he said, adding that compliant agencies will face no interference.The action follows directive issued by the Jharkhand high court, alongside a landmark ruling by the Supreme Court in Civil Appeal No. 4665-4666/2025, which recognised the citizen’s ‘Right to Walk’ as a fundamental right.
