Crackdown on illegal hoardings soon

The hoardings for which the taxes have not been paid can be regularised by paying the tax and other amount due to the corporation as prescribed by law.

The Kochi Corporation plans to crack down on unauthorised hoardings in the city as part of its drive against illegally displayed advertisements.

The Revenue wing of the civic body had earlier estimated that around 700 hoardings were displayed on private holdings in the city. Hoardings were also displayed in 38 sites leased out by the corporation.

Tax not paid

The challenge before the local body is to identify the hoardings for which advertisement tax has not been paid, said a senior official of the Town Planning Department of the corporation.

The documents related to every hoarding will be verified.

The hoardings for which the taxes have not been paid can be regularised by paying the tax and other amount due to the corporation as prescribed by law.

Tough task

However, the date from which the hoardings have been exhibited has to be known to estimate the tax and other payments due to the corporation. The officials of the civic body will soon look into these aspects, he said.

Meanwhile, the civic authority will resume the drive against unauthorised advertisement materials displayed in the city from Tuesday.

More teams

The Kochi Corporation had earlier deputed a team of its officials to remove the unauthorised publicity materials exhibited in the city.

Two more teams will be deputed for the drive shortly, said an official of the Revenue wing of the civic body.

The corporation’s decision to directly collect advertisement tax has started yielding results. It has collected Rs.1.15 crore so far.

Last year, the civic body could get only Rs.82 lakh when it auctioned the right to collect advertisement tax. With four more months left in the current fiscal, the civic body hopes that tax collection from advertisements would reach around Rs.2 crore, he said.