Section 21 of the Haryana Municipal Council Act (HMCA), which regulates advertisement policy, will soon be amended. The Municipal Corporation of Gurgaon (MCG) said this in a meeting with advertisers held recently.
Mall owners, owners of wine shops and other companies were also present in the meet called by the MCG's advertisement committee. The meeting aimed at apprising advertisers about the intended amendment.
The civic body apprised advertisers, mall owners and owners of companies to fall in line with the rules that it would be introducing shortly. However, for the past one month, the MCG had been apprising the advertisers about the probable amendment and invoked action against defaulters.
The corporation said it might frame a policy, where in advertisers would have to pay R100 per sqf per month. Currently, the advertisers pay R80 per sqf a year to the MCG.
Meanwhile, the civic body's enforcement department has removed several billboards, hoardings, wall papers, etc. It is taking action especially against those malls, which make a lot of money through advertisements, but don't pay revenue to the corporation.
Earlier, mayor Vimal Yadav, senior deputy mayor Yashpal Batra and deputy mayor Parminder Kataria took rounds of many such malls.
{{/usCountry}}Earlier, mayor Vimal Yadav, senior deputy mayor Yashpal Batra and deputy mayor Parminder Kataria took rounds of many such malls.
{{/usCountry}}"The mall owners have made advertising a good source of income, while the corporation is suffering massive revenue losses," said Yashpal Batra. "We have sent notices to the malls, asking them either to pay the revenue or remove the advertisements at the earliest," said Samir Srivastav, zonal taxation officer (ZTO), MCG. He added the corporation had suffered losses worth R12-15 crore.
"The department has been intimating the defaulters (mall owners) to comply with the advertisements act of MCG and deposit the due amounts, but they ignored and kept displaying advertisements," said the ZTO.