23 illegal hoardings pose safety risk this monsoon, alleges Arappor Iyakkam

The anti-corruption organisation has filed a complaint with the Chief Minister’s Office, demanding the removal of illegal hoardings. A total of 23 illegal hoardings along arterial roads in Chennai pose a safety risk this monsoon season, according to data compiled by Arappor Iyakkam.The anti-corruption organisation has filed a complaint with the Chief Minister’s Office, demanding the removal of the illegal hoardings to prevent accidents in the event of strong winds during the season.The 23 illegal hoardings have been identified in Triplicane, Thousand Lights, Nungambakkam, Adyar, Alwarpet, Teynampet, Saidapet, Guindy, Perungudi, Taramani, and Arumbakkam.Arappor Iyakkam convener Jayaram Venkatesan said: “Hoardings are allowed to be set up only up to a height of 33 ft from the ground. However, one is around 80-ft tall. Hoardings have been mushrooming across Chennai and other areas in recent times, many of them installed in direct violation of the Tamil Nadu Urban Local Bodies Rules, 2023. This raises a serious question about the stability of these structures and the danger they pose to commuters. The Chennai Corporation and other local bodies must immediately take action against hoardings installed in violation of the rules.”“Given that the monsoon is already here, it is important that the Corporation takes action immediately,” he said.‘Violations overlooked’The GCC’s Assistant Engineers are supposed to check all the hoardings under their purview every month, while its senior officials are required to conduct random checks. However, they have not acted on blatant violations, Mr. Venkatesan said.Accountability must also be fixed on the officials concerned, apart from the advertising agencies responsible for installing illegal hoardings, he added.The NGO visited each of the sites where the illegal hoardings had been erected, photographed the structures, and recorded their locations using Google Maps. Each illegal hoarding has been verified against the specific rule it violates. However, this is only a sample, and the government must ensure that all hoardings strictly adhere to the rules, the complaint said. “More importantly, we are concerned with the structural stability of the large hoardings, as they pose danger to human lives,” it said.“The violations are not minor. We have found hoardings that are twice the legally permitted size, structures erected on the fourth floor when the rules prohibit them from being set up beyond the second floor, hoardings projecting over public roads and pavements, and prohibited double-decker hoardings,” the complaint said.Municipal Administration and Water Supply Secretary Gagandeep Singh Bedi held a review meeting on Friday, and ordered Corporation officials to remove unauthorised hoardings in the city. Published - October 30, 2026 11:47 pm IST