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Madras has always been world famous, whether for its intellectuals or its culture. Chennai, as it is called now, is growing all the time and is attracting big business houses and tourists by the droves. Not only those of us living here, but even the NRI who is returning home for a visit is startled by the sudden new look the city is sporting. Visual pollution is a new concept, but it looks like city planners will have to introduce it into their vocabulary and start dealing with it pronto.
 Every city has a distinct skyline that greets a visitor entering it by road, rail or air. What strikes one approaching Chennai is hoardings, posters, more hoardings and more posters in every conceivable spot. A relative says half-jokingly, "Don't stand in one place for too long in Chennai. Lest someone hammer a hoarding down your head or wrap you up in a colorful poster"! Some people adopt the extreme stance of wanting all hoardings removed while others appreciate the witty or interesting ones.
The state government has introduced a bill called the Tamil Nadu Municipal Laws (Amendment) 2000, by which the Commissioner is empowered to remove any hoarding after giving a notice of 15 days to the concerned persons. The act describes any hoarding that is "visible to the traffic" as hazardous. The Tamil Nadu Outdoor Advertising Association (TNOAA) has vociferously attacked the Bill and demanded its withdrawal. Mr.A.G.Nayagam, the association secretary, in an exclusive interview to Chennaionline said, "Next to newspapers and television, the hoarding industry is the third largest in media advertising. Our business is to make people see. If the government terms "hazardous" any hoarding that is visible to traffic and removes it, all hoardings have to be removed. This will kill our industry."
What is your stand on this issue?
"My stand is that since all authorized hoardings are put up only after getting clearances from the traffic police and the collector, why this move now? Government officials are not enforcing strictly the existing laws or removing unauthorized hoardings. In fact in 1998 the Government amended the law and authorized all unauthorized hoardings after getting a fee".
How many authorized hoardings are there in Chennai and how many unauthorized ones in your estimate?
"There are 598 hoardings authorized by the Tamil Nadu Government, 238 authorized by the Railways and 1001 in private buildings. There are 494 unauthorized hoardings".
There have been instances even in Chennai where people have been injured due to hoarding collapses. Are there any safety measures and periodical safety assessments for at least authorized hoardings?
 "Let me ask you one question. Even with all the traffic rules and police vigilance, accidents happen everyday. Why? In some corner one hoarding may collapse. Surveys done in Delhi and Calcutta where the research agencies have interviewed the victims of road accidents, eye witnesses and police officials have categorically concluded that not a single accident in the past three years occurred in these two cities because of a hoarding."
Going by Mr Nayagam's statistics, there are a whopping 2000 plus authorized hoardings and around 500 unauthorized ones. So will Chennai's face, hidden behind Fa, Arrow and Citibank, improve by just removing the unauthorized hoardings? And what about posters that deface walls, trees, electricity meter box junctions, telephone boxes, bus shelters and just about any surface offering a few inches? Or the neon lights that flicker on and off, disturbing the vision as you drive through the city roads?
The answer lies in finding out where to draw the line - encouraging development of the right kind, forming sensible rules and regulations and strictly enforcing them. Regulating the use and display of hoardings and posters in specific areas, enforcing period, number and size limitations. The Government should remove all unauthorized hoardings without fear or favour and repeal its 1998 amendment that legitimised unauthorized ones for a fee. This policy of regularizing irregular constructions has caused havoc in Chennai. Visual pollution has to be tackled with a coordinated policy before it grows into an insurmountable problem.
Akshaya
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