Outdoor ad bylaw: Suggestion deadline today

Bengaluru The BBMP, which was earning nearly Rs 5,000 crore per year from its outdoor advertising before the Karnataka High Court banned flexes and banners recently, is coming out with a city wide plan for outdoor advertising and has formulated "Outdoor Signage Public Messaging Bylaw 2018". The BBMP has invited suggestions from the public on the by-law and the deadline to send recommendations ends Thursday.

Mr Srinivas Alavilli, a co-founder of Citizens for Bengaluru, said, “It is commendable that the BBMP not only got rid of all hoardings and banners in such a short time, but also prepared an entirely new policy and is inviting public opinion."

He said, “The new policy establishes exacting standards and unequivocally declares that pedestrian way cannot be blocked at any cost. It is disappointing, however, that skywalks can still be used for advertising and we know how they are abused by politicians. The bylaws should explicitly ban all political banners. The five-year term for continuation of existing contracts looks suspicious. The city lost hundreds of crores of advertising revenue over the years and this should not continue for five more years. Advertising is one of the very few avenues to generate revenues for the city and the new policy should maximise it.” 

He said that the enforcement should be decentralised at zonal level, and ward committees should be involved in certification and removal of illegal advertisements. Revenue must be shared with ward committees to take up development works.

Branding expert Harish Bijoor said that “outdoor advertising” is a powerful medium for the advertiser, the owner of outdoor site and BBMP. “However, it needs to be monetised responsibly.  Overdoing it will lead to covering our trees and heritage sites with these advertisements,” he warned. 

“There is a need for a ‘responsible outdoor’ policy that is a win-win for all. The city coffers must win. The city and its aesthetics must win. And the marketer must win. And this is a possibility,” he suggested.

A BBMP official said that they have received nearly 80 suggestions from citizens through letters and emails. “The deadline to submit suggestions ends on Thursday. We will go through these suggestions after the deadline and consider the most valuable ones,” he said.