CHENNAI: The Municipal Administration and Water Supply Department has written to all district Collectors to take appropriate action to remove advertisement hoardings at all traffic signals, following a Madras High Court order in October last year.
According to the Indian Road Congress guidelines, no sign, signal or any other device erected for traffic guidance and/or traffic information shall obscure any other traffic sign. “Further, the signs and signals shall not carry any advertisement,” the guidelines said.
Drawing attention to the circular issued by the Union Ministry of Road Transport and Highways in 2002, the letter stated that no advertisement hoardings are permitted on National Highways within the Right of Way, except informatory signs of public interest such as on hospitals, bus stations or advertisements of temporary nature announcing local events such as mela and flower shows.
Meanwhile, the Tamil Nadu Urban Local Bodies Licensing of Hoardings also said the hoardings should be erected only parallel to the footpath or road and not across the footpath or road margin. It also stated there should be a gap of “not less than five-ft-width between one hoarding and another.’
The letter, signed by Principal Secretary Harminder Singh, was issued to district Collectors last month.
On permissions granted to private advertisers to advertise on traffic signals, the letter quoted the High Court as observing “there is no difficulty in permitting the private respondent to go on with the advertisement till the expiry of the licence issued to them. The official respondents should not, either renew the licence or give a fresh one being contrary to the guidelines and the policy being adopted by the 16th respondent.”
“Putting up posters and hoardings near busy traffic signals are against the guidelines issued by the Indian Road Congress as well as Tamil Nadu Urban Local Bodies Licensing of Hoardings and Levy and Collection of Advertisement Tax Rules, 2003,” the petition filed by K Kathairmathiyon had said.