You can see them at every corner. In that sense they are truly democratic for they occupy valuable public space on arterial roads, streets and lanes. We allude to the political party flag posts, which are nothing short of public hazards as they block visibility at junctions. And yet they proliferate chiefly owing to a deadly combination of political clout and lack of administrative will. To add to this are High Court judgements that seem ambivalent at best and confusing at worst.
We do not intend any disrespect to the High Court of Madras but how else do you explain two seemingly contradictory judgements/directives within a week? The first, from the Madurai Bench ordered that all political party flag posts need to be removed immediately. A few days later, the new political outfit TVK requested permission for erecting a flag post in the Aminjikarai area. The High Court has asked the Corporation to consider the request. This, despite, as per newspaper reports, the civic body citing legal hurdles in granting this permission.
Such confusion is not new. In 2023 a Public Interest Litigation was filed seeking a directive for removal of political flag posts but that was dismissed on the grounds that there already exists a judgement dating to 2019 to the effect that these need to be removed anyway! Which brings us to the question of what the city administration is doing when it already has clear instructions from the Court since 2019. Why have party flag posts not been removed on that basis and why is a new partyasking for permission to erect one?
Looked at objectively, these poles serve no purpose and are nothing but usurpation of public space and demonstration of political power at the local level. They become convenient garbage dumps and venues for unauthorised shops and makeshift kiosks. Often, you can see rival political outfits having flag posts just next to each other. During elections and political occasions these become convenient places from which to hang bunting which after the event become hazards for pedestrians and two-wheelers. They always present a shabby appearance and bring no credit to the city administration.
The Corporation has the power to remove flag posts on its own. But it has very conveniently passed the buck on to the citizenry -you need to complain and prove that a particular flag post is causing a nuisance for action to be taken. Can any Chennai resident imagine the consequences of such a step? You will be forever running from pillar to post and there is also the possibility of harassment from the local politicos. The problem needs to be addressed by political leaders themselves.
Our Chief Minister who gave us the Singara Chennai phrase should pause to consider what his party is doing by way of erecting such flag posts. His closest political rival and immediate predecessor who once famously declared that this city will be another Singapore also needs to ask how many such flag posts exist in that island nation. The party in power at the Centre, which is forever claiming that it will transform our State if voted in needs to ponder over why it needs flag posts. And the other outfits, which profess social uplift need to realise that erecting flag posts are not in any way contributing to that cause. Which brings us to the latest party asking for permission to erect a flag post. If it is indeed full of new ideals, why does it need to toe the hackneyed line of putting up useless flag posts?