Coimbatore: Almost all the bus shelters in the city limits are crowded with advertisement boards, while the district administration had given nod to install them only at 75 of the 300-odd bus shelters.
Activists said all the unapproved advertisement boards were illegal and they should be removed at the earliest.
In a letter dated October 2018, then district collector TN Hariharan had made it clear that nod was granted to only Shine Outdoor Advertising and Sky Rams Outdoor Advertising India Pvt Ltd to install and maintain advertisement boards at the city corporation’s bus shelters that too for a period ending September 30, 2019.
Shine Outdoor Advertising was allowed to install and maintain 150 advertisement boards in 50 bus shelters, while the other company was allotted 25 bus shelters where it could put up a total of 75 such boards.
The letter was sent to all the concerned government departments such as the city corporation, police and highways department, following the Madras high court order against renewing or issuing (fresh) approvals to put up advertisement boards along roadsides, important junctions, national and state highways, and on traffic islands.
According to an activist, collector is the only competent authority to allow advertisement boards in the district and the permission could only be granted for a maximum period of three years. He said other heads of government departments, including corporation commissioner, were competent to issue only no-objection certificate (NOC).
“Though nod was granted only to install advertisement boards at 75 bus shelters, multiple boards have been put up at more than 300 bus shelters in the city. If the government itself bends the rules for its convenience, how would the public obey them? The corporation should immediately remove all the illegal advertisement boards,” he said.
Another activist S P Thiyagarajan, meanwhile, came down heavily on the city corporation for not taking any step to remove the advertisement boards, the contract for which had already been expired. He said many such boards were seen on Cross Cut Road, Brookfields Road, DB Road and other parts of the city. “There are 562 expired advertisement boards in the city,” he said while hinting the possibility of political influence behind them still ruling the city roads.
The highways department said it hadn’t provided NOC to install advertisement boards anywhere in its jurisdiction. “We have sought the list of approved places from the collector’s office to remove the unapproved boards,” an officer said.
A senior corporation official assured to look into the issue.
Activists said all the unapproved advertisement boards were illegal and they should be removed at the earliest.
In a letter dated October 2018, then district collector TN Hariharan had made it clear that nod was granted to only Shine Outdoor Advertising and Sky Rams Outdoor Advertising India Pvt Ltd to install and maintain advertisement boards at the city corporation’s bus shelters that too for a period ending September 30, 2019.
Shine Outdoor Advertising was allowed to install and maintain 150 advertisement boards in 50 bus shelters, while the other company was allotted 25 bus shelters where it could put up a total of 75 such boards.
The letter was sent to all the concerned government departments such as the city corporation, police and highways department, following the Madras high court order against renewing or issuing (fresh) approvals to put up advertisement boards along roadsides, important junctions, national and state highways, and on traffic islands.
According to an activist, collector is the only competent authority to allow advertisement boards in the district and the permission could only be granted for a maximum period of three years. He said other heads of government departments, including corporation commissioner, were competent to issue only no-objection certificate (NOC).
“Though nod was granted only to install advertisement boards at 75 bus shelters, multiple boards have been put up at more than 300 bus shelters in the city. If the government itself bends the rules for its convenience, how would the public obey them? The corporation should immediately remove all the illegal advertisement boards,” he said.
Another activist S P Thiyagarajan, meanwhile, came down heavily on the city corporation for not taking any step to remove the advertisement boards, the contract for which had already been expired. He said many such boards were seen on Cross Cut Road, Brookfields Road, DB Road and other parts of the city. “There are 562 expired advertisement boards in the city,” he said while hinting the possibility of political influence behind them still ruling the city roads.
The highways department said it hadn’t provided NOC to install advertisement boards anywhere in its jurisdiction. “We have sought the list of approved places from the collector’s office to remove the unapproved boards,” an officer said.
A senior corporation official assured to look into the issue.
Quick Links
Lok Sabha Election Schedule 2019Lok Sabha Election NewsDelhi Capitals teamMI team 2019Rajasthan Royals 2019RCB team 2019Maharashtra Lok Sabha ConstituenciesBJP Candidate ListBJP List 2019 TamilnaduShiv Sena List 2019AP BJP List 2019Mamata BanerjeeBJP List 2019 MaharashtraPriyanka GandhiBJP List 2019 KarnatakaAMMK Candidate List 2019BJP List 2019 WBLok Sabha Elections in Tamil NaduBSP List 2019 UPNews in TamilLok Sabha Poll 2019Satta Matka 2018PM ModiMahagathbandhanNagpur BJP Candidate ListChandrababu NaiduTamil Nadu ElectionsUrmila MatondkarNews in TeluguMadras High CourtTejashwi YadavArvind KejriwalTejasvi SuryaPawan KalyanArvind KejriwalYogi AdityanathJaya PradaSatta King 2019Srinagar encounter
Get the app