Municipal affairs dept to come up with advertisement policy for state
Kolkata: The Municipal Affairs department will soon come up with signage, hoarding and outdoor advertisement policy for the state with the objective to curb accidents and enhance aesthetic appeal of cities. The policy has been conceived in the backdrop of the Supreme Court issuing directions for bringing down road fatalities.
“With the rapid growth of urban areas, the visual clutter caused by excessive signage and outdoor advertisements has become a concern for both residents and visitors. It is essential to maintain clear visibility and readability of traffic signs, signals and road markings that are essential for ensuring road safety. The policy seeks to create a harmonious visual environment while ensuring safety and convenience of road users,” said a Municipal Affairs department official.
The policy assumes significance in the backdrop of the collapse of a massive billboard in Mumbai in May that killed 16 persons and injured 70. There will be few ‘no hoarding zones’ in the urban area where all kinds of private as well as government advertisement will be strictly prohibited. These include national parks, district forests and water bodies, historical monuments, crematoriums, world heritage sites, religious places of all communities and areas classified as remnant endangered regional ecosystems.
There will be a fixed time frame for a particular advertisement and if the concerned agency is found dragging its feet on the removal, the concerned civic body shall forcibly remove the same. Advertisements put by political parties or socio economic religious organisations such as the arrival of VIPs for some ceremony shall be allowed three days before and after the said event. The civic bodies will ensure that no advertisements involving any obscene, particularly involving women, are put up. “There will be four zones depending upon the jurisdictional area and the population of an urban local body on the basis of which the municipalities will adopt the advertisement policy,” added the official. Glazy advertisements involving LED lights that dazzle the eye of a driver should be avoided and display of digital screens at various locations shall be promoted.
The Urban Development and Municipal Affairs department has already uploaded the draft of the policy seeking opinion from stakeholders that includes Bengal Police, Kolkata Police, state government departments such as Education, Health, Public Works department, Panchayat department, National Highway Authority of India, State Highway Authority with Transport department being the nodal one Opinion has also been invited from the general public.
“We are trying our best to come up with the policy in quick time in the backdrop of pressure from the apex court for curbing road fatalities,” the official said.
