Mumbai’s walls and public infrastructure have been reduced to a mere canvas for unsightly hoardings for years now. A front-page report in this paper yesterday cited these appalling figures: the BMC took down 10,314 illegal banners in 2015, but only alerted the police about 1,731 of them. What’s worse, the police only took action in 4 per cent of the cases.

Illegal hoardings have long defaced this city, and the High Court has even rapped the BMC several times, asking the body to take action under the Maharashtra Prevention of Defacement of Property Act, 1995. But why weren’t more FIRs filed in the matter? Several reasons were given for this, such as the fear of offending high-profile people putting up the hoardings.