JOIN USThe Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike has set a Saturday (June 6) deadline for educational institutions to remove their advertisements from public space or pay hefty penalty.
A BBMP official said, “Educational institutions are directed to remove all banners and flexes from the City’s public space by June 6, 2015. Those institutions defying the order will be penalised. These advertisement and publicity materials mar the beauty of the City. Such banners and flexes are illegal as they have surfaced without the Palike’s permission.”
The official admitted that this was a perennial problem.
The Palike official claimed that, in the recent past, it had given permission only for 2,400 hoardings in the City, most of which are on realty, clothing and accessory brands. The list hardly includes any educational institution. An internal assessment by the Palike shows that there are over 4,000 illegal hoardings by educational institutions alone.
“If we start penalising the illegal hoardings put up in public spaces by educational institutions, we can generate at least Rs 25 crore revenue this year alone,” the official said.
Many educational institutions have erected banners and flexes across the City displaying marks and photographs of students who have passed with distinction. This, according to BBMP officials, is a form of advertisement and is illegal.
The problem is more prevalent in Mahadevapura and Whitefield BBMP zones.