<p>Bengaluru: Almost a year after issuing a draft notification to bring back commercial hoardings in Bengaluru, the Karnataka government on Friday issued its final version, effectively lifting the seven-year ban on outdoor advertisements in the IT capital. </p><p>While the decision will certainly disrupt the city’s aesthetics, the move will fetch additional revenue to the civic body and also open up the advertising sector. </p>.<p>The notification was issued after the government submitted the BBMP Advertisement Bye-Laws, 2024 to the Karnataka High Court which was hearing a bunch of petitions related to the subject. </p>.<p>As per the bye-law, advertisement rights will be issued to the bidders who offer to pay the highest rates on a particular road or a set of roads. Permissions for putting up commercial advertisements will not be issued on roads which are not wider than 60 feet, the bye-law states, except in zones which are prescribed as commercial and industrial in the master plan. </p>.<p>Successful bidders can put up hoardings only on private properties by taking the owners' written consent. The BBMP will allow hoardings on every 200 metres of a notified road length. It has noted that no two hoardings can be clubbed while the horizontal width of a hoarding should not exceed 40 feet. </p>.<p>The government has made it clear that no advertisement should be allowed on footpaths and public roads. Advertisements are also prohibited on properties without a valid khata or that are excluded from the BBMP’s property tax list. At the time of auctioning, the BBMP will fix a minimum price of Rs 50 per sq ft per month. For example, a 3-km stretch of an 83-foot-wide road allows 15,000 sq ft of advertising space. The minimum auction fee comes to Rs 7.5 lakh per month.</p>.<p>The notification allows Namma Metro to display advertisements on its pillars and stations but the BBMP will float the tenders and share the revenue. Malls that are tax-compliant are also allowed to display commercial ads facing the road but must pay applicable minimum advertisement fees. These ads will not count toward the area limit of any bid winner on that stretch.</p>.<p>A minimum of 10% of daily screen time on digital displays and 20 days per year for static hoardings must be allocated free of charge for public interest messages, the notification points out. </p>
<p>Bengaluru: Almost a year after issuing a draft notification to bring back commercial hoardings in Bengaluru, the Karnataka government on Friday issued its final version, effectively lifting the seven-year ban on outdoor advertisements in the IT capital. </p><p>While the decision will certainly disrupt the city’s aesthetics, the move will fetch additional revenue to the civic body and also open up the advertising sector. </p>.<p>The notification was issued after the government submitted the BBMP Advertisement Bye-Laws, 2024 to the Karnataka High Court which was hearing a bunch of petitions related to the subject. </p>.<p>As per the bye-law, advertisement rights will be issued to the bidders who offer to pay the highest rates on a particular road or a set of roads. Permissions for putting up commercial advertisements will not be issued on roads which are not wider than 60 feet, the bye-law states, except in zones which are prescribed as commercial and industrial in the master plan. </p>.<p>Successful bidders can put up hoardings only on private properties by taking the owners' written consent. The BBMP will allow hoardings on every 200 metres of a notified road length. It has noted that no two hoardings can be clubbed while the horizontal width of a hoarding should not exceed 40 feet. </p>.<p>The government has made it clear that no advertisement should be allowed on footpaths and public roads. Advertisements are also prohibited on properties without a valid khata or that are excluded from the BBMP’s property tax list. At the time of auctioning, the BBMP will fix a minimum price of Rs 50 per sq ft per month. For example, a 3-km stretch of an 83-foot-wide road allows 15,000 sq ft of advertising space. The minimum auction fee comes to Rs 7.5 lakh per month.</p>.<p>The notification allows Namma Metro to display advertisements on its pillars and stations but the BBMP will float the tenders and share the revenue. Malls that are tax-compliant are also allowed to display commercial ads facing the road but must pay applicable minimum advertisement fees. These ads will not count toward the area limit of any bid winner on that stretch.</p>.<p>A minimum of 10% of daily screen time on digital displays and 20 days per year for static hoardings must be allocated free of charge for public interest messages, the notification points out. </p>