Notices being issued for violations to the Chandigarh Advertisement Control Order 1954 are finding their way to the bin for the past three years.
Reason: The municipal corporation (MC) has just been banking on the order, without any notification being issued regarding the penalty on the violators.
Now, MC officials have written to the UT administration to seek clarification on the issue, which is still awaited.
“We have written to the finance secretary for issuing a notification in this regard, which is still awaited,” said MC joint commissioner Varinder Chaudhary.
In the past three years, the civic body has issued notices to nearly 1,300 entities, including shop owners, jewellers and mobile companies, without issuing the mandatory notification to enforce the penalties.
The matter came to light when a committee was formed to calculate the advertisement fee to be collected from the Bharatiya Janata Party for the banners and hoardings put up by it in Chandigarh on April 12 this year. Although a fine of Rs 1.8 crore was due, a notice was not sent, as it was revealed there was no notification in this regard.
{{/usCountry}}The matter came to light when a committee was formed to calculate the advertisement fee to be collected from the Bharatiya Janata Party for the banners and hoardings put up by it in Chandigarh on April 12 this year. Although a fine of Rs 1.8 crore was due, a notice was not sent, as it was revealed there was no notification in this regard.
{{/usCountry}}Notices flouted rules
Earlier, notices were issued after the then additional commissioner Sunil Bhatia sought approval from the finance secretary in 2013 to impose the fine. In a reply, the UT administration had allowed the MC to impose a penalty, equivalent to six months, on all offenders.
As per rules, however, before issuing any notice, a notification by the Chandigarh Administration is mandatory to implement the orders.
Nominated councillor Surinder Bahga said it is shocking to see the manner in which the entire issue has been handled, and even senior officers did not notice the lapse all these years.