Calcutta High Court on Thursday directed the Bidhannagar Municipal Corporation (BMC) to remove around 2,500 illegal billboards within 48 hours.

The division bench of Chief Justice T.S. Sivagnanam and Justice Hiranmay Bhattacharyya also came down on the Salt Lake civic body and expressed its dissatisfaction about the “casual attitude of the Bidhannagar Municipal Corporation over the removal of billboards from areas falling under its jurisdiction”.

“It seems that Bidhannagar Municipal Corporation is not interested enough in removing the illegal billboards. The casual attitude of the municipality is not desirable. The civic body is directed to ensure that all the illegal billboards are removed within 48 hours,” Chief Justice Sivagnanam said in open court.

A senior advocate said 48 hours will be calculated from when the order is uploaded on the court’s website.

“All orders passed by Calcutta High Court are uploaded on the court’s website. The orders are generally uploaded in the evening and can usually be accessed from early morning the following day,” the advocate said.

The division bench also directed the BMC to take punitive measures against persons and establishments found defying the court’s order.

Senior advocate Amrita Pandey said the civic body had the power to impose a fine of ₹50,000 on the owners of illegal billboards. “They can also be jailed for three years,” Pandey said.

In August this year, advocate Divyayan Bandopadhyay filed a public interest litigation (PIL) in the high court stating that the mushrooming of illegal billboards in Salt Lake had led to visual pollution and impeded normal visibility in the township.

The high court had directed the civic body to submit a status report about billboards in its jurisdiction.

On Thursday, the BMC’s counsel informed the court that nearly 2,500 billboards had been erected illegally.

“There are 135 billboards in areas under the Bidhannagar Municipal Corporation that have the civic body’s approval. However, more than 2,500 hoardings have been erected in these areas over the years,” the counsel said in the open court.

Bandyopadhyay told The Telegraph that though more than 2,000 billboards have been installed in Salt Lake and adjoining areas such as Kaikhali, Chinar Park, Teghoria and parts of Rajarhat, the civic body has not taken any steps to address the problem.

“The Salt Lake skyline has turned into a jungle of billboards. Areas along VIP Road look the same. The corporation has not taken any concrete steps to check this,” Bandyopadhyay said.

BMC mayor Krishna Chakraborty said the civic body would abide by the court.

“We have pulled down illegal hoardings in the past. We will abide by the court order and do what needs to be done. We will start bringing down the illegal billboards,” Chakraborty said on Thursday.

The BMC is in charge of civic services in Salt Lake, parts of Rajarhat, and pockets along VIP Road such as Teghoria, Kaikhali, Chinar Park and Kestopur, among other places.

A BMC official said the civic body is supposed to earn ₹90,000 as annual revenue tax from outdoor advertising agencies for a hoarding measuring 20X10ft.

The agencies that have put up billboards in the 41 wards of the BMC had last paid taxes to the civic body in the 2018-19 fiscal.

“Bills had been sent out to the agencies but none has cleared the dues for the past six years. The 135 legal billboards, too, have arrears. The corporation is supposed to earn ₹1.21 crore annually from the 135 hoardings assuming that each measures 20X10ft,” the official said.

According to the BMC’s figures, a mere ₹20 lakh was collected in the 2019-2020 fiscal.

The official also said many hoardings have rusted iron scaffoldings that are worrying but admitted that they don’t check their stability.

“Like in areas under the Kolkata Municipal Corporation, the onus of checking the stability of these structures is on the advertising agencies,” the official said.