BENGALURU: The Karnataka High Court on Friday said that the state government should ensure that banned plastic material should not be used for advertisements on vehicles, including buses operated by the Bengaluru Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC).
A division bench of Chief Justice Dinesh Maheshwari and Justice R Devdas issued this direction to the state government, when the counsel of a petitioner in a PIL filed in relation to unauthorised hoardings, pointed out that the same banned plastic/flex is being used for display of ads on vehicles.
The court asked the advocate general to instruct the transport department and the police department to take concrete steps to ensure that none of this plastic is used for advertising on vehicles. It should neither be used for ads on public toilets, skywalks or bus shelters built under the PPP project, the court added.
Meanwhile, the BBMP counsel informed the court that total 704 objections/suggestions to the proposed BBMP Outdoor Signage and Public Messaging Bye-Laws-2018 were received. It includes 75 objections received through mail, 72 through post and 557 were received at the BBMP office. To this, the court asked the BBMP to process the same without any delay to finalise the bye-laws.
The court has adjourned the hearing to Saturday (November 3). A special sitting will be conducting to hear the matter on that day.
86 structures to be dismantled
The BBMP has informed the high court that 1,565 hoardings structures have been removed as on October 25, 2018 while 86 structures are yet to be dismantled. The total amount collected so far by the BBMP from the scrap dealers from the sale of structures is D6.68 lakh.