The Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) has failed to collect over ₹50 crore from advertising agencies who were provided space on skywalks in the city.
Nine agencies bagged tenders from the civic body for the construction of pedestrian overbridges and to rent space on the same. The companies are expected to pay ground rent, advertisement fee, tax and others charges, including GST, to the BBMP.
Documents accessed by The Hindu show that the BBMP issued 36 demand notices seeking payment of dues from the companies. While the total pending dues is pegged at over ₹26 crore, the amount goes up to over ₹50 crore with 18% penalty.
The companies have built 36 skywalks, including in Jayanagar 3rd block and in front of Yeshwantpur railway station.
Delayed work
The documents also show that some companies took nearly six years to complete the work. For instance, a skywalk near Tavarekere junction was completed in 2018, while the agreement was signed in 2012. While the delay has caused a huge loss to the exchequer due to escalation of cost, the BBMP is yet to collect the money earned from these civic projects.
On the other hand, despite the contracts of some of the companies having ended in 2017, 2019, 2020 and 2021, they continue to use the space for advertisements, while denying revenue to the BBMP.
Allegation of nexus
A BBMP official alleged, “A key reason for zero recoveries of revenue is the nexus between these companies and some of the officials in the civic body while ads continue to be displayed on the skywalks.”
S. Amaresh, Managing Trustee, Right to Information Study Centre, said ads continue to be displayed in bus shelters and skywalks despite expiry of the contracts.
BBMP officials claim that they will call for fresh tenders but are mum about recovering pending dues. The BBMP issued notices in December 2022, but did not follow up on them.
Poor maintenance
Mr. Amaresh claimed that many skywalks in Bengaluru are not maintained properly, citing a lack of funds. But these skywalks generate revenue, not just sufficient for maintenance, but also to build new ones, if necessary. He urged Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar to initiate a probe into the same.
A BBMP official in the advertisement department said the defaulting agencies will not be allowed to participate in the fresh tenders, and they may be blacklisted.
The 36 skywalks
- Marathahalli bridge, near HAL old airport
- Near Forum Mall
- Jayanagar 3rd block
- Across Tavarekere junction and Hosur-Lashkar Road
- Near Embassy Golf Link
- Across NIMHANS hospital gate 1 to gate 2
- Saint John’s hospital, Sarjapur
- In front of Yeshwantpur railway station
- In front of Gopalan Mall on Mysuru Road
- Near LIC building, N.R. Circle
- Near Jawaharlal Nehru Planetarium
- Near Water Tank Junction, HAL Road
- Near Sir M. Visvesvaraya College, HAL Road
- Near KSRTC building, Shanti Nagar
- In front of Baiyappanahalli Metro Station
- Near Visvesvaraya Museum, opposite Kasturba Road
- In front of Sophia School, Basaveshwara Circle
- Near Bangalore Club, Residency Road
- In front of 100-feet road, Indiranagar
- In front of CPRI, C.V. Raman Road
- Near Kemp Fort, Old Airport Road
- In front of Maharani College
- K.R. Puram
- Outer Ring Road, near Nagarbhavi
- Raja Ram Mohan Roy Road, near Ganesh temple
- Outer Ring Road, Bellandur
- Across Benniganahalli Bus Stand to Nagavarapalya Bus Stand, Old Madras Road
- Near Ambedkar playground, HBR Layout
- Near Guttahalli Bus Stand
- Near Innovative Multiplex, Outer Ring Road, Marathahalli
- Near ITI Colony Gate, K.R. Puram
- Near Iblur junction, Outer Ring Road
- Near ISKCON temple, Rajajinagar
- In front of Spice Garden, Munnekolalu
- Near Baptist Hospital, Ballari Road
- Near Sathya Sai Ashram, Whitefield
