The Council of Engineers through advocate HC Arora has served a contempt notice to the chief secretary of Punjab, additional chief secretary and director of local government department and municipal corporation commissioner of Ludhiana for their act of fixing advertisement billboards above carriageways (roads), close to the rotaries and on footpaths— grossly violating the directions of Punjab and Haryana High Court.
Engineer Kapil Arora, president of engineers’ body, informed that the municipal corporation, Ludhiana, under the provisions of Punjab Municipal Outdoor Advertising Policy of 2018, has given contract to a private firm for the fixation of a specific number of different types of advertisement billboards within the limits of MC.
“Flag-shaped billboards have been installed at many places in the name of unipole which could pose serious danger for commuters,” said engineer Mohit Jain, another member of Council of Engineers.
He said the MC also allowed the company to install other luminous billboards which are located very close to round-abouts, road junctions, on footpaths and such billboards were creating hurdles in the flow of traffic.
Arora added that keeping in view the directions of High Court, advocate HC Arora, on behalf of CoE, has served contempt notice to the chief secretary of Punjab and others with demand to remove all such billboards within 15 days which have been installed going against the direction of the High Court, failing which the engineers’ body would file contempt petition against them.