GHMC to pull down big hoardings in Hyderabad

HYDERABAD: An action plan is being rolled out to pull down all the hoardings/billboards and unipoles across the city.
In an attempt to make the city hoarding free, a new advertisement policy is also being enforced which restricts the height of the hoardings to 15 feet from ground level.
As per the new policy, if height of the unauthorised advertisement element exceeds 15 feet, a penalty of Rs 1 lakh will be imposed per day.
“If the unauthorised hoarding (above 15 feet from ground) surfaces on June 1 and the violation is reported on June 8, the penalty will be Rs 7 lakh. The idea is to make Hyderabad a hoarding free city by discouraging huge billboards,” said a GHMC official.
According to Hyderabad mayor Bonthu Rammohan, hoardings are being pulled down for the safety of people, especially during monsoon and gusty winds. “Despite hoardings generating revenue, MAUD minister KT Rama Rao instructed me to ensure hoardings are pulled down emphasising on safety of denizens,” said Rammohan.
There are over 2,600 advertisement hoardings and Rs 40 crore revenue is generated every year from them. GHMC charges the advertiser based on hoarding size. According to civic officials, the advertisement rates have been revised too. “The state government has instructed us to reduce visual pollution and give utmost priority to safety of motorists and pedestrians. The decrease in revenue will also be balanced as advertisement prices for hoardings (lesser height) has been revised,” said Viswajit Kampati, director of GHMC’s Enforcement, Vigilance and Disaster Management (EVDM).
According to commuters and activist, hoardings are a threat to people.
“Structural stability of hoardings is always a concern during downpour accompanied by gusty winds. The city should get rid of all the hoardings. There have been instances where hoardings turned into death traps,” said Harish Daga, an activist from the city.