Hoardings set to return, but first tax the ‘unbilled’ boards Premium

Giant outdoor advertisement hoardings had once dominated Bengaluru’s skyline. But the exposê of a massive ₹2,000 crore scam linked to illegal hoardings eventually led to a ban. Blatant violations followed. Is the time ripe enough now to bring them back with a new advertisement byelaw drafted by the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) awaiting a final go-ahead from the State?

Giant outdoor advertisement hoardings had once dominated Bengaluru’s skyline. But the exposê of a massive ₹2,000 crore scam linked to illegal hoardings eventually led to a ban. Blatant violations followed. Is the time ripe enough now to bring them back with a new advertisement byelaw drafted by the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) awaiting a final go-ahead from the State?

The Palike plan, as articulated in its BBMP Advertisement Bye Laws 2023, is this: Licences are to be auctioned to outdoor advertising firms to erect paid advertisement hoardings/billboards but only in private properties. The ban on commercial advertisements will continue on roads with width less than 60ft. But this regulation will not apply to roads in commercial and industrial zones.

In 2018, the BBMP Outdoor Advertisement and Public Message Byelaws prohibited all commercial ads except those under public-private partnerships. This followed an internal report by the then Palike Assistant Commissioner (advertisements) K. Mathai who pegged the revenue losses from illegal billboards at ₹2,000 crore.

The Outdoor Advertising Association, Bengaluru, approached the High Court challenging the byelaws and obtained a favourable order. The Court directed the BBMP to allow outdoor ads on private properties with restrictions.

What has raised eyebrows, however, is the generosity of the new byelaws. Depending on the road width, the area of the paid advertisement could vary from a minimum of 800 sqft to a maximum of 3,000 sqft with a height restriction of 75ft. Advertisers could display such billboards every 100m of the permitted road stretch. This is a far cry from 2018, when only 800 sqft hoardings were allowed within the city limits.

Urban planners and architects contend that this will aggravate the city’s visual pollution. Massive billboards at traffic intersections, for instance, are bound to hide several iconic buildings and other structures from public view.

“We have a precedent. Chennai and Delhi have banned them,” notes urban architect Naresh Narasimhan. “You can have them outside the city centre. In Bengaluru itself, outside the Outer Ring Road, immediately after the Hebbal flyover you have an overdose of hoardings. But within the city, it amounts to visual pollution, covering up all the greenery and signs of the city. It is an outdated concept, no western city allows it,” he points out.