“Meeting the home minister was a heartening experience. He lent a patient ear and has promised that strict action will be taken against politicians who have filed the FIR and also the police personnel who were hand in glove with them,” added Thakoor.

The citizens’ group applauded the home minister for hearing them out. “He read our letter out. We had mentioned that we are a group of citizens who are spearheading an eco-friendly drive against illegal elements. We are not taking the law in our hands, we just want the authorities to wake up. We want to work with them to make the city better,” said Aftab Siddique, ALM member from Khar area and another activist against whom an FIR was filed.

The activists also maintained that they have not done anything against the law. “We have not gone out ourselves and taken the hoardings out. This is something the concerned authorities have to do and we are hoping that they will do it in time,” said Siddique.

Meanwhile, Mayor Shubha Raul wants the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) to have stricter rules in place while dealing with the ‘menace’ of illegal hoardings. “It is a pity why the civic body has not taken stricter action against illegal hoardings. Even the top bosses of many political parties find covering the whole city with political hoardings a bit too much to digest. Hence, the onus lies on the civic body to deal with the situation,” said Raul.

The Mayor had earlier suggested demarcating a specific area where all political parties can put up their banners. This, she had suggested, will make sure that all parties get equal attention and will prevent the city from getting wrapped up in political hoardings. “We welcome citizen activism but it cannot really bring the change. The authorities need to wake up. Apart from being an eyesore these hoardings are not environment friendly. After their need is over they are dumped in dustbins or drains,” added Raul.