Bandra Residents Oppose New Hoarding Policy

Bandra West resident groups have challenged the Maharashtra Maritime Board’s new advertising policy after it opened coastal spaces to hoardings and other ad formats. (timesofindia.indiatimes.com) The Maharashtra Maritime Board notified its Regulation of Display of Advertisements Regulations, 2026 last week. The rules apply to areas under the board’s jurisdiction and permit hoardings on land, ads on vessels and barges, floatels, hot air balloons, and digital displays including LED and LCD boards. (timesofindia.indiatimes.com) (storyboard18.com) In a letter to Maharashtra Maritime Board chief executive P. Pradeep, the Bandra West Residents Association said promenades and beaches in Bandra and elsewhere in Mumbai should not be used for hoardings of any size. Chairperson Patricia Nath signed the letter with trustees including Hussainali Dholkawala, Naaznin Husein, Sahir Sekhon, Vaishali Shinde, Vidya Vaidya, Vivek Sundara and Zameer Palamkote. (timesofindia.indiatimes.com) Residents said the board issued the policy without calling for public suggestions or objections. They asked the board and other custodians of open spaces to adopt Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation-style restricted zones that bar hoardings on promenades and beaches. (timesofindia.indiatimes.com) The dispute is tied to Carter Road, where residents spent February fighting a plan for 35 LED hoardings along the seafront promenade. Hindustan Times reported the 1.2-km stretch would have carried 5-foot-by-8-foot advertising panels fixed to supports several metres high. (hindustantimes.com) The Bandra West Residents Association told authorities in February that the promenade had been built and maintained by local residents over 25 years and was used daily by thousands of walkers, joggers, families and senior citizens. The group also said many promenades fall inside Coastal Regulation Zone limits and need explicit rules against hoardings. (timesofindia.indiatimes.com) Maharashtra fisheries and ports development minister Nitesh Rane told The Times of India on February 16 that no permission had been granted for the Carter Road LED hoardings and that the Maharashtra Maritime Board had already issued a stop-work notice. He said the board was exploring a hoarding policy for some of its plots, but not for the promenade “for now.” (timesofindia.indiatimes.com) The board’s position is that the new regulations create a formal system where none existed before. Under the policy, advertising rights are to be awarded through bidding, with the board identifying locations and permitted formats to generate revenue from its properties. (storyboard18.com) Residents are now asking Bandra West Bharatiya Janata Party MLA and minister Ashish Shelar to intervene. The immediate fight is over whether Mumbai’s waterfront promenades stay public open spaces first, or become part of the state’s new coastal advertising inventory. (timesofindia.indiatimes.com)