Remove illegal advertisements in the city or face action, Coimbatore Consumer Cause (CCC), a consumer body, has told the Coimbatore Corporation in a notice it sent recently.
The CCC’s secretary K. Kathirmathiyon said the advertisements were illegal as the advertisement agencies concerned had failed to take the permission of the appropriate authority, in this case the District Collector, were against various Madras High Court orders, in violation of the Indian Road Congress norms and caused revenue loss to the exchequer.
The advertisements were at shelters at bus stops, in the form of digital boards in various places and alongside roads. Though the CCC had written letters in May 2018, November 2018, September 2019 and October 2020, the Corporation had failed to remove the boards.
The Indian Road Congress had specifically banned advertisements with moving lights – digital advertisement boards as they were illegal. And, as they were illegal no advertisement fee could be fixed.
After the CCC pointed out that such violations to the state Government, the Municipal Administration and Water Supply Department Secretary wrote to the local bodies directing them to strictly comply with the IRC norms, court orders and rules.
But as the Corporation had failed to initiate action and as such action had caused revenue loss to the state Government, the CCC was constrained to move the Madras High Court with a contempt of court petition and take the issue to the notice of the appropriate authority for departmental inquiry, Mr. Kathirmatiyon added.
