The BBMP on Friday said that the February 15 deadline set by it for the owners to remove illegal defacements in public places is not applicable to hoardings.
Referring to the report “Remove illegal hoardings by Feb 15 or pay fine” published in Deccan Herald’s February 5, 2016 edition, BBMP Commissioner G Kumar Naik clarified that a public notice that was issued by the Palike that legal action will be initiated against defaulters with regard to defacements such as “posters, banners, flexes, writings on the wall, on trees, electric poles etc. Nowhere in the public notice, the word hoarding has been mentioned.”
The public notice states that “Public and private buildings and other open places, disfigured by slogans written and posters pasted indiscriminately on their walls are a common spectacle in Bengaluru. In the last 45 days, the BBMP is on a drive to remove these defacements. Under the provisions of the Karnataka Open Places (Prevention of Disfigurement) Act, 1981, defacement of any property (public or private) is cognizable offence. Any advertisement without written permission and payment of licence fees to the BBMP is illegal. Owners of such defacement i.e posters, banners, flexes, writings on the wall, on trees, electric poles etc are hereby informed that such defacements be removed by February 15, 2016. Appropriate legal action shall be initiated against the defaulters there after.”
Naik said there is a BBMP drive against all forms of advertisement and the process of renewal of hoardings is currently underway.
Published 05 February 2016, 20:25 IST