BMP backpedals on hoarding ban

BMP backpedals on hoarding ban
The Times of India

Bangalore: Were you expecting a city sans eyesores like gigantic hoardings? Well it’s not happening. For, the BMP has done a Uturn on its own declaration. After creating a stir by announcing a blanket ban on hoardings, BMP is going on reverse gear. The ban will not come into effect. At least, not for another year.

Reason: The committee which was looking at possibilities of an alternative to existing hoardings has no clue on what to do.

Circa March 2006. The BMP’s budget for the ad department drew a collective gasp from the Council when the taxation and finance committee banned hoardings because revenues from advertisements have traditionally been a huge money maker.

The committee spelt it out. “It has been proposed to ban hoardings in the city in its present form. A new electronic display board or automated display board of standard size shall be implemented. The revenue out of this existing system is taken as nil.’’ A committee comprising the mayor, deputy mayor and few corporators was set up to look into the logistics of doing away with the existing hoardings and implementing new LEDs. Months later, they all drew a blank.

Here’s what mayor Mumtaz Begum said: “We will issue fresh licenses to hoardings after June 30, which is when the term for the hoardings expire.” When reminded that it was her Council which had unanimously passed a resolution banning hoardings entirely, Begum retorted, “The ban will not be implemented this year.’’

There are more ambiguities. The advertising bylaws were supposed to have been amended in June 2005. They haven’t even been touched because of reasons like “objections from the public’, ‘government yet to respond to a file’, among others

BMP additional commissioner Gaurav Gupta said, “The blanket ban has vanished. Right now, our priority is to remove all unauthorised hoardings. We are launching a drive against those who use fraudulent means to put up ads.’’ One of the problems the administration faces is that of ‘offenders’ bringing in stay orders on major hoardings, leaving a trail of litigations.

Besides, when the Council took a decision to ban hoardings, the administration was not even aware of its repercussions, admit BMP officials. Ambitions though it may be, it still has a long way to go.