PMC to take strict action against illegal banners and hoardings

On Dec 8, 2021

File photo

Pune : Policenama online – The Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) has taken a serious view of the illegal hoardings, banners and flags in the city. It has decided to recover a fine ranging from Rs 1,000 to Rs 5,000 from the people concerned on account of expenditure incurred to remove them.

A huge number of hoardings have come up in various parts of the city. Illegal banners, boards and flags are defacing the city. The PMC regularly removes such illegal hoardings and banners. However, in the absence of a strict action, such hoardings keep cropping up. The civic body has to spend lots of money to pull down such hoardings. It also requires huge manpower to do so. Moreover, frequent frictions take place between civic employees and citizens, activists when such banners are removed.

In this backdrop, the PMC has decided to strictly implement the resolution passed by the general body in 2009 against the people who put up illegal hoardings, banners.

According to the resolution, Rs 1,000 to Rs 5,000 will be collected from those who put up to 10 banners. Those who have displayed illegal advertisement banners and hoardings will be served a notice. They will be asked to pay licence fees and regular charges from the date of installation of the hoarding, if the hoarding can be regularised. If the licensed advertisers do not pay the renewal charges up to three months after the due date, they will have to pay 25 percent late fees. If they do not pay renewal charges up to six months from the due date, they will be charged 50 percent late fees and 110 percent late fees will be recovered from those whose dues are pending for over six months.

Online application facility for boards and banners

The municipal corporation has now made the application process online for erecting hoardings from Wednesday. Henceforth, only online applications will be accepted.

There are over 3,000 advertisement hoardings in the city, including those which are put up for a temporary period. Till now, applicants had to submit a form to the Skysign and Licence Department to get the approval of the civic body.

Now, the IT department of the civic body has made the application available on its website. Hence, the people concerned can fill it from the comfort of their residence or office.

The civic body has started accepting the online applications from today. Henceforth, offline applications will not be accepted. The Skysign and Licence Department has issued a circular stating that the ward offices and the main departments should not accept offline applications.