KALYAN: The Kalyan-Dombivli Municipal Corporation (KDMC) on Tuesday launched a major drive against illegal hoardings across the twin city area after a committee appointed to investigate the issue identified 380 unauthorized structures. BJP corporator Dipesh Mhatre, who had repeatedly raised the issue, said the civic body had initially given hoarding owners an opportunity to legalize their structures by submitting the required permissions and supporting documents. The move was aimed at bringing the hoardings into the legal framework and enabling KDMC to recover revenue. “However, most hoarding owners failed to produce any valid documents. It was found that a large number of these hoardings had been erected on government land without permission, resulting in substantial revenue losses to the municipal corporation,” Mhatre said. He further alleged that some of the hoardings were linked to political leaders, raising concerns over whether action would be taken impartially. Following the committee’s findings and the failure of owners to furnish the required documents, KDMC Commissioner Abhinav Goel decided to initiate action against all illegal hoardings. Acting on the commissioner’s directions, the Encroachment Department led by Prasad Borkar began the demolition drive on Tuesday. Despite intermittent rain, civic teams carried out action against several unauthorized hoardings during the day. Mhatre said the pace of the drive was affected by weather conditions but KDMC officials have assured that all 380 illegal hoardings will be removed in the coming days. He also urged the administration to prioritize dangerous structures before the monsoon intensifies. “I have requested KDMC to immediately remove unsafe hoardings to prevent an incident similar to the Ghatkopar hoarding collapse,” he said.
