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CMC to pull down illegal billboards

CUTTACK: After the decision of the authorities to ground the unauthorised constructions, it’s now the turn of illegal billboards to be pulled down in Cuttack city.

Close on the heels of the Cuttack Development Authority (CDA’s) decision to come tough on the builders, the Cuttack Municipal Commission (CMC) has decided to come down heavily on the advertisement agencies that violate the civic norms.There are nearly 400 illegal giant hoardings in Cuttack city.

The agencies simply book space by paying the builders and later escape from the spot after erecting the billboards.

This, not only put the tenants and commuters in trouble, but the civic body incurs heavy loss, says the CMC mayor Nivedita Pradhan.

Taking advantage of lack of any clear-cut advertisement policy, the civic body over the years had been incurring heavy losses as the agencies were flouting the civic norms with impunity, said a Congress corporator.

Many agencies after erecting their billboards in the city do not indicate their names or addresses in the signposts that was mandatory, he added. A CMC official said that the authorities have decided to regulate the size of the hoardings, its distance from electricity cables and their distances from any tree and building in the nearby areas. “Unregulated hoardings at times are so haphazardly placed at vantage points of the city that it blocks visibility in the roads causing accidents”, the official said

But this has to be stopped. The civic body, after examining a report from the standing committee has worked out a policy with strict guidelines for hoardings in the city, the mayor said adding that a fresh tender has been already floated.

At least six advertisement agencies have applied for it and soon everything would be finalized, the CMC official added.

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