Illegal hoardings: How many more litres of blood should be lost asks Madras HC

Chennai, Sep 14: The Madras High Court came down heavily on the Tamil Nadu government over illegal hoardings after a 23-year-old woman software engineer was killed after coming under the wheels of a water tanker when she was struck by a billboard that collapsed.

While ordering the government to pay compensation of Rs 5 lakh to the family of the victim, the court sought to know if a strong stand would be taken against such unauthorised hoardings.

The amount, the court said should be recovered from the officials responsible for the presence of the billboard that crashed on Subhasri. The court was hearing a contempt petition moved by activist Traffic Ramaswamy in which he alleged negligence by the government.

How more litres of blood does the state government need to paint the roads with, the court asked. Will Chief Minister, Edappadi Palaniswamy be willing to issue a statement against illegal hoardings. There is zero respect for lives in the country, the court said while also pointing out towards bureaucratic apathy. We have lost faith in this government, the court further observed.

The Division Bench further ordered the Chennai Police Commissioner to arrest those who may have been responsible for the accident. Not even a single party leader has released a statement urging party workers not to erect banners. The court cannot run the secretariat, the court also said. The High Court further said that despite a December 2018 order directing the removal of illegal hoardings, political parties continue to put up flex banners without requisite permission.