GHMC Fails To Enforce Directive On Illegal Publicity Material In Old City

Hyderabad: Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation officials are finding it difficult to control the illegal and unauthorized publicity material promoting commercial enterprises, educational institutions, and voluntary organizations in the Old City area. Even after directions from the principal secretary for municipal administration and urban development Arvind Kumar, such promotions continue unabated.

The erecting of unauthorized hoardings and flexis is quite rampant in different parts of the Old City area, especially in the Nayapul surroundings. This is an outright violation of norms, as the entities don’t pay any advertisement fee to the GHMC, which is a must.

Many of the flexis are erected by commercial enterprises along the roadside under the garb of conveying greetings to political parties or wishing people on festivals. By doing so they display their brand name while evading advertisement tax, a violation of the GHMC Act.

The organizations add pictures of peoples' representatives like MPs or MLAs on the publicity material so that they are not pulled down. They don’t even hesitate to erect these banners and flexis on monuments.

In the same way, educational institutions are pasting stickers on electricity poles to promote their institutions.

Earlier this month Arvind Kumar, was on a visit to the Old City, while then he had observed that public places, roads, street light poles were filled with such flexis and banners. Later he ordered the officials to take an action and implement the Public Properties Defacement Act. Officials have to make sure that public places, roads, street light poles, flyovers, bus shelters are devoid of such publicity material.

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