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To weed out illegal hoardings, Noida authority gives unique code to all outdoor billboards
NOIDA: The Noida authority has given a unique code to each billboard placed across the city in order to act against illegal ones.
NOIDA: The Noida authority has given a unique code to each billboard placed across the city in order to act against illegal ones.
Earlier, in the absence of a code, it was not easy for residents or motorists to identify the illegal hoardings. Removing illegal billboards is important for two reasons: one, the authority does not lose revenue and two, an illegal billboard defies safety procedures thereby putting motorists or pedestrians’ lives at risk.
A hoarding is deemed illegal if it is put up without obtaining a licence and paying a fee, officials said. After giving unique codes to each hoarding, the authority will identify illegal ones and bring them down.
“We have given a code to ensure only legal billboards are placed in the city,” Ritu Maheshwari, chief executive officer, Noida authority, said.
The authority, since last September, has started a campaign against illegal hoardings and imposed penalty against those found putting up illegal billboards along roads.
“Since September 2019, we have recovered ₹2 crore in penalties from those caught putting up illegal billboards. We started drives along all city roads and identified illegal billboards. But identifying an illegal billboard was not easy in the absence of codes. Therefore, we decided to give a code to each hoarding,” a Noida authority official, not authorised to speak to the media, said.
The authority has told advertisers to put the code number, time for which the billboard is allowed and the category of the billboard.
“If any resident or motorist spots a billboard without code, then they can file a complaint with the authority. An action will be followed promptly. We will also recover the lost revenue from the person who has put the illegal hoarding,” the official said.
In financial year 2017-18, the authority earned ₹14 crore by selling advertisement rights along city roads. In financial year 2019-2020, it has so far collected ₹18 crore from advertisement rights.
“We hope that ₹4 crore more will be collected by March end of this financial year,” official said.
As per the advertising rules, the authority charges ₹218 per square feet for a month on hoardings.
