BBMP notifies fresh SoP to crack down on illegal hoardings

The Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) has issued a new Standard Operating Procedure (SoP) to intensify its crackdown on unauthorised advertisements, replacing the earlier framework with a more coordinated and enforceable structure. 

The Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) has issued a new Standard Operating Procedure (SoP) to intensify its crackdown on unauthorised advertisements, replacing the earlier framework with a more coordinated and enforceable structure. 

The updated SoP lays out clear responsibilities for civic officials, strengthens coordination with the police, and introduces tougher enforcement provisions aimed at eradicating illegal flexes, banners, cut-outs, and similar public displays.

At the core of the revision is the formation of dedicated BBMP advertisement control teams in each zone. These teams, comprising junior, assistant, and assistant executive engineers, will work in close coordination with marshals, Home Guards, and local police to identify, remove, and penalise unauthorised hoardings. The assistant executive engineer of the respective subdivision will oversee these operations and ensure complaints are registered against violators.

For seamless implementation, each ward will have designated engineers responsible for lodging complaints with the local police. In the absence of permanent staff, contract workers may be deployed. BBMP officials have also been authorised to recover the cost of advertisement removal along with penalties by treating them as property tax arrears, under Section 161 of the BBMP Act, 2020. The SoP emphasises that no banner, flex, cut-out, or advertisement can be displayed without written permission from the BBMP Chief Commissioner, as per Section 158 of the BBMP Act, 2020.

A dedicated control room will operate from every assistant executive engineer’s office to receive public complaints via phone or the BBMP help app (1533). Police stations are required to appoint nodal officers for continuous collaboration with BBMP teams, while enforcement personnel such as Hoysala patrolling units must notify BBMP of any ongoing or newly erected illegal advertisements.

The police and BBMP teams are expected to respond immediately upon receiving such information, remove the advertisements, and register FIRs under multiple legal provisions including the Karnataka Open Places (Prevention of Disfigurement) Act, Indian Penal Code, and the Public Property Damage Act. The FIRs must name both the installer and the beneficiary of the advertisement, and criminal action, including arrests, will be pursued where necessary.

The revised SoP mandates 24/7 availability of advertisement control personnel across zones, publishing contact details for public access and assigning nodal officers to coordinate enforcement at each police station. The BBMP Commissioner and the Police Commissioner will regularly review the implementation and effectiveness of the SoP.