Posters, flex boards and banners greeting citizens during festivals or those wishing political leaders on their birthdays are spotted across the city routinely. Taking note of this “visual pollution”, the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) is, once again, set to launch a drive to rid the city of posters, flex boards, banners, and illegal hoardings.
V.V. Puram councillor Vani V. Rao and Dharmarayaswamy Temple councillor Prathibha Dhanraj raised the issue of flexes, posters and banners spoiling the city’s aesthetics, at the BBMP’s monthly council meeting on Friday.
Ms. Dhanraj said her ward, which comes under Chikpete constituency, is dotted with posters wishing the local MLA on his birthday. “Some posters have been there for the past six months. Despite requesting BBMP officials to get these removed, nothing has been done,” she said. Ms. Rao urged Commissioner N. Manjunath Prasad and Mayor R. Sampath Raj to give her a truck so that she could remove the banners and flexes with her team.
Mr. Sampath Raj directed officials to remove the illegal banners, posters, flexes and unauthorised hoardings from Saturday. He also said if any illegal banners, posters, flexes, and hoardings are found in any ward, the ward engineer concerned would be suspended.
“Eco-friendly posters (made from cloth, for instance) can be allowed. There should be 100% implementation of the plastic ban in the city,” he said, and directed BBMP officials to raid the presses that print the banners, posters and flexes in the city.
Earlier, Mr. Sampath Raj directed officials to take seriously the civic problems highlighted by the media. “Action must be immediately initiated to fix the issues and the problems must be uploaded on the BBMP’s ‘Fix My Street’ mobile application,” he said, and added that if, after a week, no action has been taken, the officials concerned would be suspended.
‘Council’s autonomy is not affected’
The autonomy of the BBMP council is not affected in any way with the high-powered committee approving various development works, said Mr. Prasad, responding to questions raised by Opposition Leader Padmanabha Reddy in the BBMP council’s monthly meeting on Friday. He said the committee had been approving various city development works since it was formed in July 2012.
Mr. Reddy had earlier claimed that files pertaining to development works taken up with special grants from the government were being sent directly to the high-powered committee, bypassing the standing committees and the council. He also sought to know how the BBMP would be able to pay ₹1,500 crore, which is over the tendered amount, for the works taken up with ₹7,300 crore government grant, since there was no budgetary provision.
Mr. Prasad said the issue had been raised several times before. The Urban Development Department had, after seeking legal opinion, written to the BBMP stating that the State government could approve works taken up with special funds. He also said the remainder of the ₹1,000 crore under the Nagarothana Scheme would be released by March 2018, and added that all works taken up under the scheme would be completed around the same time. He also said that under the Capital Fund, the government had released ₹517 crore. The remaining funds would be released by the Finance Department based on the works completed.
Earlier, JD(S) Floor Leader Nethra Narayan pointed out that the BBMP had not been getting the quality of works tested by the seven institutions identified by the government.
“Though the government issued an order in this regard in June 2017, BBMP officials are not adhering to it,” she said.
Free WiFi at 300 spots
Soon, free WiFi facility will be available at 300 spots in the city. The facility will be inaugurated on January 15, announced Mr. Sampath Raj. He said the facility was an initiative of the Department of Information Technology and Biotechnology headed by Minister Priyank Kharge.
