New ad scheme by North Corpn to generate Rs 500 cr

In a bid to generate revenue and crack the whip against illegal hoardings, the funds-starved North Corporation on Wednesday has cleared the decks to divide outdoor advertising contracts into 50 clusters.

The new scheme divides outdoor ad sites in all six zones under North Corporation into 50 clusters to generate an estimated revenue of Rs 500 crore in a year.

North Delhi Mayor Ravinder Gupta said new policy of cluster rights for outdoor advertising is yet to be finalised. 

“It will eliminate corruption and improve the quality of advertisements in turn help in the beautification of the city,” he added. “It will also augment the revenue to improve the financial condition of the corporation.”

To discuss the proposed scheme, an open session with the representatives of the advertising agencies was held at Civic Centre on Wednesday.

Under the scheme, the new advertisement sites will be created at parks and on streetlight poles. The advertisers will also be given powers to remove illegal hoardings. 

The mayor said the new scheme is within the guidelines of the Supreme Court. Gupta also directed officials to identify and remove all outdoor illegal advertisements within 15 days.

A senior official said the civic agency incurs huge loss due to the prevalent malpractices in the advertisement department. Standing Committee Chairman Mohan Bhardwaj said both the advertisers and corporation can benefit from the new scheme.

Commissioner Praveen Gupta said that the new scheme will curb the illegalities in the process of allotment of sites. He said there will be six clusters each in Sadar Paharganj and Karol Bagh Zones, 10 clusters in Civil Lines Zone, seven clusters in Rohini Zone, five clusters in Narela Zone and two clusters in City Zone.

The North Corporation is in the red as it has not been able to pay salaries to its employees on time. The agency requires Rs 171 crore per month to pay salaries and other benefits to its over 70,000 employees.