BENGALURU: Finally, Bengaluru may get a systematic approach to advertisements with the state government moving to put an end to the illegal advertisement mafia responsible for the visual pollution in
the city.
The Urban Development Department (UDD), which is preparing a new advertisement policy for Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) limits, is all set to finalize the first ever handbook and guidelines for issuing permission for advertisements which would add a revenue stream for the BBMP.
An official from the UDD said, “The policy was prepared over almost 9 months by the High Court-appointed committee and UDD officials have proposed guidelines such as fee based on size, location and validity of advertisements in licensed places. A digital identity will be recommended for the license. This policy will be placed before the committee for approval before being sent to the High Court.” The official added that implementation would take another three-four months due to the elections.
Last year, the BBMP council banned all advertisements for one year to curb the menace of illegal advertisements. The move came after the High Court slammed the civic body for its failure to control the advertisement mafia. However, the HC quashed the resolution in January this year, deeming it illegal. However, since the court did not direct the issuing of licenses, the BBMP stood firm and refused to do so.
The issue unfolded when the High Court was hearing Public Interest Litigations (PILs) filed by Bengalureans and the court subsequently took the BBMP to task multiple times over its failure to control illegal hoardings in the city. The court then asked the UDD to prepare a new advertisement policy comprising experts from the committee formed by high Court.
The draft policy was prepared in September 2018 and around 800-odd objections were received in the matter. The modified guidelines, expected to be finalised by next week, will take into account these objections. Mahendra Jain, Additional Chief secretary of UDD could not be reached for comment on the same.