Chandigarh: To ensure a uniform policy in the state regarding hoardings on the side of roads, market places or any building in Haryana, the Punjab and Haryana high court high court has asked the government to take a final decision on the Haryana Municipal Corporation Advertisement Bylaws, 2016, before March 9, 2018.
A division bench headed by Justice Surya Kant passed these orders recently while hearing an ongoing petition related to the illegal hoardings or advertisements in various cities of Punjab and Haryana. When the matter came up for hearing before the HC, the chief town planner of Haryana urban local bodies department filed a report stating that the bylaws were notified on September 28, 2016, followed by subsequent amendments made on June 8 this year.
He told the court that some more representations had been received regarding the bylaws, which are being processed by a committee constituted. The matter was thus pending before the committee.
After hearing the state's reply, the bench ordered, "We direct the committee to decide the objections and submit its report to the state government within one month whereupon the state government is directed to take necessary action within one month thereafter.
The matter has now been fixed for further hearing on March 9. The HC has also issued notice to the railway authorities regarding illegal hoardings/advertisements at railway land in Hisar.
"The railway authorities will also show cause as to how the illegal hoardings/advertisements have been allowed to be displayed despite categorical stand taken before this court on earlier occasion that all such hoardings have been removed," asked the HC while directing the railways to file response.
Orders were passed by the HC after the Hisar Municipal Corporation urged the court to issue directions to railway authorities to remove illegal hoardings by the contractors authorized by them.
The matter related to illegal hoardings in various cities of Haryana is pending before the HC for a long time. So far, the court has passed several orders in this regard, which includes show cause notices to the various districts and the state government for not having any policy to regulate such advertisements in the cities.
Following HC directions, Haryana local bodies department had also appointed a nodal officer to prepare reports from every districts/municipal authorities for regulation of outdoor hoardings/advertisements in the state.
