The Punjab and Haryana high court has sought response from Mohali administration, among others, on a public interest litigation (PIL) alleging installation of illegal hoardings in Zirakpur and other places along national highways.

The high court has sought response from the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) and Mohali administration by March 4. The PIL by lawyer petitioner Arjun Shukla alleged installation of numerous illegal hoardings/billboards/unipoles on the roads connecting Lalru to Zirakpur-Kalka Road and Banur-Zirakpur road. “These illegal hoardings and unipoles fall under municipal council, Zirakpur and are a clear violation of Punjab Municipal Outdoor Advertisement Policy 2018 and various orders of the high court,” the petitioner said, adding that similar violations are prevalent in other cities like Kharar, Mohali, Ludhiana and others. “These sites are traffic hazards and they do not fall under any criteria/clause/directions of Punjab Municipal Outdoor Advertisement Policy 2018 and need to be removed immediately,” the PIL said, demanding that money should be recovered from those who installed it and may be used for public welfare.

The PIL also referred to an incident reported in June last year, in which seven cars were damaged when two unipoles in Zirakpur fell on these vehicles due to a dust storm, demanding that authorities should be asked to immediately take remedial steps.