The Hindu 01.12.2010
Row over skywalk hoarding
Staff Reporter
| BBMP officials charged with bending rules to favour advertiser |
WALKOVER FOR ADVERTISER?:Though bye-laws don’t permit any hoardings or shifting of hoardings to the city’s A Zone, BBMP officials have allowed advertisements on the skywalk near High Grounds in Bangalore.
Bangalore: The new skywalk opposite the Sophia High School near High Grounds in Bangalore city has kicked up a controversy even before it has been officially thrown open to the public.
The advertisement hoarding displayed on the skywalk, situated close to the Vidhana Soudha, has incurred the wrath of the Opposition Congress in the Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BBMP).
Referring to the advertisement bylaws in the city’s A Zone (from the Vidhana Soudha to the Cauvery cinema junction), Opposition Leader M. Nagaraj said BBMP officials had not only given the go-by to the rule of law but also colluded with advertisers.
A Zone rules
Addressing presspersons here on Tuesday, he said that though the civic authority’s advertisement bye-laws don’t permit any hoardings or shifting of hoardings to the city’s A Zone, the officials have allowed advertisements to be displayed on the skywalk near High Grounds, opposite the Sophia High School.
“The BBMP signed a public-private partnership with Vantage Advertisers to construct five skywalks in Jayanagar in 2005. However, in violation of the rules, the officials allowed the advertiser to shift the skywalk and put up advertisement hoardings in the A Zone,” he said.
Rs. 30-cr loss
The BBMP officials have also failed to fix the ground rent by auction, as per procedure. The civic authority auctioned 13 other skywalks in the city and collects around Rs. 63.10 crore as licence fee every year. “However, the ground rent for the skywalk near High Grounds has been fixed at Rs. 10,000 a month. The lease period is for 25 years. This is causing a loss of around Rs. 30 crore to the BBMP,” he charged.
Though a High Court order and a Government Order say that there should be no obstruction on the footpaths, the skywalk is right on it, forcing pedestrians to walk on the busy road. “There is a pedestrian underpass on the same road that is not used. What was the need to construct a skywalk? Besides, the stability certificate from the Indian Institute of Science and completion certificate from BBMP have not been issued. Though the skywalk has not yet been opened for use, the advertiser has started displaying ads,” he said.
Bus shelters
It is not just advertisement bye-laws, the officials seem to be violating laws even for the construction of bus shelters, Mr. Nagaraj said.
There should be space to display BBMP’s awareness messages and bus schedules. “There is no provision for that in any of the bus shelters across the city. Some don’t even have seating arrangement for the commuters, like the one in Jayanagar 1 {+s} {+t} Block,” he said.
In December 2009, 288 bus shelters were constructed, of which 85 were illegal. “The advertisers applied for permission after setting up the shelters. The Commissioner refused permission but instead of demolishing them, the officials claim that the BBMP will suffer revenue loss of Rs. 1.20 crore if the 85 shelters are removed,” Mr. Nagaraj said.
Revenue collection
According to the 2010-11 budget, the BBMP hopes to collect Rs. 100 crore through advertisements. The revenue collection, from all sources, is targeted at Rs. 8,871 crore. In eight months, the civic authority should have ideally collected Rs. 5,920 crore from all revenue sources.
“However, the BBMP collected just Rs. 2.91 crore from advertisements and Rs. 1,444 crore from all revenue sources. Will the BBMP be able to achieve the target it is set for itself in just four months?” he asked.
