Jairaj, mayor on collision course over hoardings

Jairaj, mayor on collision course over hoardings
New Indian Express

BANGALORE: Commissioner of the Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BMP), K Jairaj, seems to be heading for a conflict with the elected representatives on the issue of hoardings.

Jairaj declared on Tuesday that all hoardings must get their licences renewed by Friday, otherwise they would be pulled own. This decision was taken while the committee appointed by the council and headed by mayor Mumtaz Begum had on Thursday instructed officials to renew all legal licences.

"How can we deny renewal of legal licences? The revised rules are not yet in force and under the existing rules, the renewal cannot be denied," Begum said. She said that it would be unfair on the part of BMP to render legal hoardings illegal by denying them renewal.

The commissioner had announced that the new rules would be in force from July 1, which means that they would not apply to renewal applications before that.

The civic body has not removed thousands of illegal hoardings and the commissioner should take action on those, maintained Begum.