The Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) has decided to launch a drive against illegal hoardings put up across the City soon.

A 15-member team, under the supervision of BMC Project Officer Srimanta Mishra, will conduct the drive in a week’s time. Since the restoration work in the aftermath of cyclone is yet to be completed, the drive will be conducted after a week to make it more effective. The team will raid the commercial establishments across the city in a phase manner.

Private rooftop hoardings, small shops who have not acquired BMC licence for their hoardings and illegal billboards will be under scanner of the BMC.

A commercial establishment is supposed to take permission from BMC for putting up any kind of hoarding or billboard. The drive, which was initially supposed to begin after the Dussehra vacation, was postponed as majority of BMC staff were engaged in restoration work.

“Ideally a shop is allowed to put up just one hoarding. But most of the shops violate the rules and put up more than one hoarding without our permission. We will either penalise the shop owners or confiscate their hoardings,” said Mishra. Portable hoardings, used for promotional events, will also be removed if they have been put up without permission.

Notices will be issued against the illegal hoardings in private property, asking them to pull down the structures within a stipulated time. If the defaulter does not respond, the hoardings will be removed by BMC and the defaulter penalised.

BMC generates about Rs 2.4 crore from trade fees and roughly Rs 2.5 crore from licence fees collected from private commercial establishments. BMC has erected hoardings throughout the city where advertisements can be put up and the shop-keepers are expected to advertise through these hoardings.