The Hindu : Tamil Nadu / Chennai News : Hoardings disappear, Chennai reappears

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Monday, Apr 14, 2008
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Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu - Chennai

Hoardings disappear, Chennai reappears

City Bureau

There is one view that the multi-crore-rupee industry should be regulated rather than done away with

— Photo: M. Karunakaran

REMAINS OF THE DAY: Unauthorised hoardings pulled down by the Corporation near Periyar Statue on Anna Salai a few days ago.

CHENNAI: In a span of five days, Chennai’s skyline has undergone a radical change. Giant hoardings have made way to reveal trees and buildings. Footpaths on arterial roads are easier to use, now that pedestrians do not have to navigate their way around metal scaffoldings. Motorists have a better view of traffic signals, and clutter-free road junctions have improved safety.

The Supreme Court on Wednesday upheld the Madras High Court ruling against unlicensed hoardings. Based on the orders of the Chennai Collector, the Chennai Corporation will remove 4,100 unlicensed hoardings. About 4,000 vinyl sheets have already been removed, Corporation Commissioner Rajesh Lakhoni said. Only the hoardings fixed atop buildings still display advertisements.

Municipalities in the city’s suburbs have also taken up the drive in earnest.

An Ambattur municipality official said most of the billboards were pulled down by the owners even before municipal action. The local body at Avadi has spent nearly Rs.25,000 to bring down hoardings. While 47 hoardings were pulled down from key roads such as Thirumangalam Road and the stretch between Padi and Ambattur of the Chennai-Tiruvallur Road, about 130 hoardings were removed at Avadi and Pattabiram.

Hoarding norms

Are all the hoardings in the city illegal? Apparently so, as the District Collector has rejected all applications seeking licence on the grounds that they do not conform to the Chennai City Municipal Corporation Licensing of Hoardings and Levy and Collection of Advertisement Tax Rules of 2003. These rules fix the maximum size of hoardings in relation to road space. For roads with width exceeding 100 feet, the hoarding can be a maximum of 24 feet X 12 feet in the horizontal position. Roads of width between 50 and 100 feet can have hoardings of size 15 feet X 10 feet (horizontal position) and roads with width less than 50 feet can have hoardings that are 12 feet X 6 feet (horizontal or vertical). The maximum height of a hoarding from ground level cannot exceed 30 feet.

Also, hoardings cannot be placed in front of education institutions, popular places of worship, hospitals and buildings of historic importance. Corners of road junctions, up to a distance of 100 metres on either side of the junction, are off-limits for hoardings. No objection certificates have to be obtained from the police for traffic safety.

Industry in doldrums

The hoarding removal drive has struck a blow to the multi-crore-rupee outdoor advertising industry. A billboard of 300 square feet at a prime location fetched at least Rs. 20,000 a month. The huge billboards with an average size of 1,000 square feet brought in three times more.

K. Chandrasekaran, president of the Tamil Nadu Private Site Hoardings Owners Association, said that thousands of workers were affected by the removal of hoardings.

A.G. Nayakam, secretary of the Tamil Nadu Outdoor Association, contended that formalities, as prescribed by the law, were not followed when the applications for licences were rejected. He said the industry should be regulated rather than completely done away with.

Mr. Nayakam said the Collector of Chennai rejected applications seeking licence at one stroke on April 9 and the hoarding owners received the removal orders on April 10. According to rules, licences can only be denied after the applicant has been given an opportunity to make a representation, he said.

Sources at the Collectorate said the hoarding owners were free to make their representations. However, that did not mean the hoardings that did not conform to norms could continue to stand, said an official.

The Corporation has removed the metal scaffoldings of about 700 hoardings. The structures on footpaths were the first to go. The scaffoldings on government land would be next and, later, those on private sites would be dismantled.

(With inputs from Kannal Achuthan, J. Malarvizhi, K. Lakshmi and Deepa H. Ramakrishnan.)

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