Thane saved from the menace of political banners as TMC charges steep rates
Politicians and aspiring candidates, now, have to shell out from their own pockets to put up such banners, discouraging them thereby, from doing so.
Cleanliness is next to godliness, and Thane has been living up to that. Thanks to the high rates charged by the Thane Municipal Corporation (TMC) on cloth banners, only 10 have been permitted to be put up in the region in the course of this year's municipal elections.
Be it festivals, rallies, or even birthdays, it is very common to see politicians and their followers preening and grinning from the banners put across the city. However, this year saw a pleasant change — very few banners were put up for the civic elections. This, though, hasn't happened due to some sudden concern that they have felt to preserve the environment. Politicians and aspiring candidates, now, have to shell out from their own pockets to put up such banners, discouraging them thereby, from doing so.
"This time we are charging people to put up banners which was a free service earlier," says Sandip Malvi, Public Relations Officer, TMC. "During the previous polls, candidates only needed permission from us to put up their banners. This time they have to pay for it and that too everyday," says he.
The rate fixed by the TMC is Rs 250 per square feet of the banner per day. For instance, for a 100 feet banner, one has to pay Rs 25,000 per day. "Even though the permissible election expenditure per candidate is Rs 8 lakh, this turns out to be quite expensive for them," says a senior leader from the Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP).
"The aim behind keeping the rates so high was to discourage politicians/candidates from putting up banners, which is exactly what happened. Until now, only 10 people have applied for permission and paid for the banners, across thane," says a senior official from TMC's model code of conduct squad, which is keeping a keen eye on the election campaign.
This move has been received very well by the residents of Thane, who were tired of seeing the faces politicians splashed everywhere. "It used to be nauseating to see political banners everywhere, which is why the move was welcomed by most. Hope TMC does the same with hoardings too," says Aditi Gavand, a resident of Thane.