Crackdown on illegal billboards in Berhampur

Authorities of the Berhampur Municipal Corporation (BMC) with support of the administration and police started demolition hoardings and billboards put up illegally all around the city.

The commissioner of the BMC, Ajit Mishra said this demotion drive against the illegally put up billboards would continue till all of them were removed. On Friday, this demolition drive continued in the presence of police in areas like old bus stand, Girija square and SNT Road. It may be noted that the BMC was not getting any revenue from these billboards and hoardings although the advertising agency behind it was making profits. An advertising agency had put up these hoardings without paying proper licence fee to the BMC. And it was continuing since more than a decade leading to large scale loss for the urban body. The BMC authorities also directed owners of all private buldings who had allowed billboards for advertising on their roof tops to get required license from the BMC after paying license fee otherwise they would also be removed.

The erring advertising agency had been given time by the BMC authorities to deposit the licence fee by 5 p.m. on April 24 which it did not do. According to the mayor of BMC, K.Madhavi the total outstanding amount which the defaulter advertising agency had to pay to the BMC was worth Rs. 1,18,58,131.

“An advertisement agency named ‘Adworld’ had taken up the tender for putting billboards in and around the city in 2001. But for some reason neither was its rate revised nor was it pressed to pay up its dues till 2012” , said Mr Mishra.

In 2013, the BMC decided to have new tender for advertisements through billboards in the city. The owner of the ‘Adworld’ which had been blacklisted by the municipal corporation applied in the name of another firm named ‘Excellent Advertisement Agency’ and grabbed the contract by becoming the highest bidder. This new firm had to deposit licence fee worth Rs. 60 lakh which it never did but put up its billboards all around the city.

When the BMC authorities objected and tried to remove the billboards in 2013, the owner of the advertising firm approached the Odisha High Court to stop the process. In March this year, Odisha High Court dismissed his case. Source: The Hindu