The banner culture has staged a comeback in Puducherry in spite of the steps taken by the government to regulate the indiscriminate display of banners and cut-outs in the city.
The government had tweaked the conditions laid down in the Puducherry Open Places (Prevention of Disfigurement Act) 2009 to meet the demands from various corners and to bring some revenue to the cash-starved local bodies.
The Act had envisaged a blanket ban on erection of banners, flex boards and hoardings. This adversely affected the revenue of the municipalities and the government decided to relax the guidelines to bring in additional revenue to the local bodies.
In an effort to regulate the display of banners and cut-outs, the Local Administration department had identified 20 designated places each in the limits of Puducherry and Oulgaret municipalities. The department decided that erection of banners will be controlled only at the designated spaces to protect the city’s aesthetics.
The government had revised the rates for display of banners, hoardings and cut-outs in the two municipal areas. The rates were last revised in 1973 when the Puducherry Municipalities Act came into force.
However, the municipal officials said flexibility in decision had led to the city’s landscape being cluttered with banners. The notification on erection of banners was observed more in breach.
Recently, the birthday celebrations of a prominent leader saw banners being erected throughout the city, particularly near the Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi squares, on the 100-foot road completely shrouding the statues of the leaders.
Discrimination alleged
Ever since the ban was enforced, there have been allegations by the Opposition parties that the municipalities were allowing the ruling party banners while removing the ones put up by other parties. However, ruling party members counter the argument by citing the stern decision taken by Chief Minister V. Narayanasamy not to put up banners on his birthday.
A top official conceded that banners continued to dot various parts of the city, particularly at traffic islands. The revised rules have been notified by both the municipalities and the commune panchayats concerned. The Local Administration Department will undertake a drive to remove all such hoardings, he added.
