Soon, the cityscape may be rid of the huge hoardings and billboards. The BBMP council on Wednesday passed a resolution banning all forms of advertisement hoardings in the city.
The civic body’s resolution comes close on the heels of the Chief Minister’s direction to BBMP to take action against people putting up publicity materials thus affecting the city’s aesthetics.
The BBMP, which earns Rs. 20 crore from advertisements as against an estimated revenue of Rs. 150 crore, will now send the resolution to the State government for its nod.
On Tuesday, several councillors had sought a ban on hoardings on the lines of Chennai and New Delhi. The civic body turning a blind eye to the illegal hoardings had caused a revenue loss of over Rs. 700 crore over the past three years, the High Court and the Lokayukta had said. The BBMP council’s resolution states that the civic body can book criminal cases against agencies putting up hoardings and those featured in the advertisements. The zonal commissioners will be vested with the responsibility of ensuring that no hoardings come up in their jurisdictions.
