Archive · 19 Aug 2026
Probe Finds Nearly 400 Illegal Hoardings, KDMC Loses ₹60 Crore
An investigation found that nearly 400 hoardings in the KDMC area may not have proper permission.
There are about 600 hoardings in total.
Officials said many advertising contracts were renewed for more than a decade without new competitive tenders.
This may have cost the city ₹50–60 crore in lost income.
The committee says the city could have earned much more money each year from advertisements.
Some operators also made hoardings larger than the size they were allowed to build.
KDMC is now checking every hoarding and collecting unpaid fees.
It is also preparing to remove illegal structures.
Only 30 operators have asked to make their hoardings legal.
Nearly 400 of about 600 hoardings within Kalyan-Dombivli Municipal Corporation limits were identified as unauthorized.
The civic body is estimated to have lost ₹50–60 crore because hoarding contracts were repeatedly extended without fresh competitive tenders since 2014.
The committee said KDMC could have earned ₹10–15 crore annually but currently receives about ₹4 crore from hoarding advertisements.
Inspections found operators expanding approved 100-square-foot structures to roughly 200 square feet without informing the municipal administration.
KDMC has begun a ward-level survey, recovery of outstanding fees and tendering for demolition, while only 30 operators have sought regularization.
- Who
- The Kalyan-Dombivli Municipal Corporation, its ad hoc committee, hoarding operators and municipal officials, including Deepesh Mhatre and Vandana Gulve.
- What
- An inquiry found nearly 400 unauthorized hoardings and estimated a ₹50–60 crore revenue loss linked to tendering lapses.
- When
- The report concerns hoarding contracts that were not freshly tendered for more than a decade, since 2014; current survey and recovery actions have now begun.
- Where
- Across Kalyan-Dombivli Municipal Corporation limits, including Kalyan, Dombivli and Titwala.
- Why
- The inquiry was conducted to examine outdoor advertising management, unauthorized structures, lost municipal revenue and the lack of transparent competitive bidding.
- Unauthorized hoardings
- Nearly 400 out of approximately 600 hoardings were identified as unauthorized.
- Estimated revenue loss
- ₹50–60 crore.
- Tendering gap
- No fresh tendering process was conducted for hoarding contracts for more than a decade after 2014.
- Current annual revenue
- KDMC receives approximately ₹4 crore annually from hoarding advertisements.
- Potential annual revenue
- The committee estimated that KDMC could have earned ₹10–15 crore each year.
- Demolition estimate
- Removing one hoarding is estimated to cost around ₹2 lakh.
- Regularization requests
- Only 30 operators have approached KDMC to regularize unauthorized hoardings.