City will be cleared of almost all advertisement hoardings, unipoles and flexis, besides several sign boards, if the recent orders by the government are implemented in true spirit.
All advertisement elements that are above 15 feet from the ground level in the GHMC area will have to go, as per the orders issued by the department of Municipal Administration and Urban Development (MA&UD).
The orders, however, may not be applicable to areas in the city under the purview of HMDA and Industrial Areas Local Authorities.
The restriction of 15 feet from ground level is attributed to a few incidents, where hoardings and unipoles collapsed and created havoc, and the damage to aesthetics of the city.
The orders will be applicable also to advertisements displayed on the building façades, and they will be removed after completion of the ‘allotted term’. However, the orders have not clarified if the allotted term was with reference to the agreement between advertiser and the building owner or to the annual payment of advertisement fee to GHMC.
The orders, however, will not be applicable to the foot-over-bridges being installed across the city. This will have a deadly blow to the advertisement industry in the city, especially during the lockdown period, say industry representatives. “It is an ill-thought decision which will deal a blow to the livelihoods of close to five lakh people in the city who are dependent on the industry directly or indirectly. Already, we are unable to pay salaries to employees due to lack of revenue during the lock down period,” said a representative.
The elaborate set of guidelines also said clearance from Traffic Police and the High Court should be obtained for use of flash lights and non static illumination, and with exception for bus shelters and toilets, the minimum distance between two advertisements should be 50 metres.
At least 10% of advertisement space and time should be used for free social messages by government and local bodies, the orders said, besides stipulating penalties ranging between ₹10,000 and ₹1,00,000 per day for violations.
