KOCHI: The High Court has directed the state government to remove all advertisement boards, including flex boards, erected at public places without the permission of local self-government (LSG) authorities.
The state government admitted that large flex boards and billboards were often erected at public places without the LSG authorities’ permission and caused inconvenience to the public, besides impeding free flow of traffic.
Justice Devan Ramachan ran directed the Principal Secretary of the LSG Department to issue necessary orders, circulars or directives to LSG institutions to ensure all illegally-erected advertisement boards were removed on a war footing and that such boards were not permitted to occupy public places. The court issued the order on the petition seeking a directive to ban illegal flex boards from public places. It observed when local bodies permit erecting such boards in future, it should be ensured the boards are put up in specific places or spaces suitable for the purpose.
“It is distressing to note that at a time when the Centre and the state governments are going all out to promote sanitation and cleanliness under the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan and Clean Kerala Mission, a few self-interested individuals or entities are choosing to violate the civic sense of a large majority of the citizen by placing such boards at public places,” the court said. “The most visible contributors to this nuisance are boards which promote movies, certain organisations, self-centred individuals and even businesses,” it observed. “Certain areas of the cities, municipalities and panchayats are so full such boards kept one over the other... that it now resembles a Byzantine Maze,” it said. The issue of unauthorised flex boards gained importance after the floods, as landfills were strained for space and there was hardly any space to dispose of the damaged items of several households, it said.