Pandole’s petitions

"She is the only woman and the only Zoroastrian nominated” for the HT for Mumbai awards, mentions an email received by Parsiana from Hosi Mehta, uncle of Dr Anahita Pandole. The gynecologist has made it to the shortlist of six in the individual category. The Hindustan Times (HT) also awards meritorious organizations; the awards are in recognition of individuals and organizations that have worked tirelessly and selflessly to make life in Bombay better. A panel of judges as well as readers’ votes will decide the outcome. In its issue of November 14, 2013, HT has profiled the doctor who, for the past decade, has been indefatigably petitioning against the flouting of norms for hoardings by the Bombay Municipal Corporation (BMC).
In 2002 Pandole filed a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) when she noticed that hoardings were being put up at spots where trees had been hacked, a battle which she is still waging. Over the years she has taken over one lakh photographs of illegal hoardings, advertisements and banners across the city. Her efforts have borne fruit, with the BMC having to revise its policy for erecting hoardings in the city three years ago and being compelled to take action against illegal ones. Members of the public too have joined in the crusade, protesting if a tree is cut in their neighborhood to improve visibility of a hoarding. Heritage areas such as Oval Maidan and Flora Fountain are no longer disfigured by hundreds of hoardings, many of them illegal, obstructing the historic buildings, HT mentions.

"I had no hope that the BMC would take action against the illegal hoardings in the city. I wrote hundreds of letters to everyone, from the local ward officer to the municipal commissioner, but none of them showed interest. It was then that my lawyer Iqbal Chagla suggested we file a PIL,” Pandole informed HT. The legal action eventually resulted in the removal of all hoardings on historical precincts, in the Coastal Regulatory Zone and open spaces. The PIL revealed that out of 1,971 hoardings examined by a court-appointed committee, 892 were illegal. Also, the city had lost 750 trees to make way for hoardings along its highways.
The Bombay High Court ordered the BMC not to permit hoardings, advertisements and boards which did not strictly adhere to the required provisions of the law, failing which licenses would be revoked and the hoardings removed forthwith. Despite this "the BMC continues to conveniently ignore the court orders even today, as we still see hundreds of illegal hoardings that violate the norms,” Pandole revealed to HT. "It has been a tedious 11-year journey and, sadly, the fight continues. The BMC has drafted fabulous guidelines for erecting such structures, but there is no will or guts to implement it,” she added.
Pandole had also agitated to protect the trees at Doongerwadi.