View of the BBMP office
Credit: DH Photo
Bengaluru: If the BBMP has its way, commercial hoardings are likely to make a comeback in Bengaluru not just in greater numbers but bigger in size too. In the new advertisement byelaw, which is sent to the state government for its final consent, the civic body has proposed to auction licences along many stretches of roads for erecting paid advertisements. These boards can, however, be installed only on private properties and not on footpaths.
Called the BBMP Advertisement Byelaws 2023, it aims to effectively replace the BBMP Outdoor Advertisement and Public Message Byelaws 2018 that had banned all forms of commercial advertising in Bengaluru, barring the ones that were allowed under the public private partnership.
In the new byelaw, the civic body has prohibited advertisement boards on roads that are less than 60 feet wide. Almost all other stretches, barring a few around Vidhana Soudha, can sport hoardings. The minimum width does not apply to roads that are in the commercial and industrial zones.
Wider the road, larger is the hoarding. The size of the hoarding will depend on the width of the road, the circle or the junction and the area. For example, a 80 to 100 feet wide road (inner ring road) is allowed to display 1,000 square feet hoarding provided the width does not exceed 40 feet. What’s more, the advertiser will get permission to install such boards every 100 metres of a particular stretch.
While minimum paid advertisement area will be 800 square feet, the maximum is 3,000 square feet, a giant. The BBMP has also fixed the maximum height at 75 feet.
Sources told DH that the byelaw had come up with a generous offer to advertisers even at the cost of cluttering the city. For instance, BBMP had permitted only 800 sq feet boards in city limits before outdoor ads were banned in 2018. The new byelaw, however, allows boards four times larger.
Interestingly, minimum rate per square foot – which is fixed in new byelaw – is less than what was proposed in 2021 policy, approved by former CM Yediyurappa and later withdrawn by his successor Basavaraj Bommai. In the new proposal, the rate varies between Rs 40 and Rs 110 per square foot, depending on guidance value of the road which ranges from Rs 3,000 per sq ft to 2 lakh per sq ft. The older policy had recommended higher rates.
On the bright side, the new byelaw has allowed paid ads on metro pillars, outside metro stations, in BMTC terminals & bus stops, as well as public toilets. This may help public transport utilities to increase non-fare revenue.
Sandeep Anirudhan, founder of Citizens’ Agenda for Bengaluru, said the government should not override decision of BBMP’s elected council. “In the name of raising resources, the government should not mess up with the city by introducing policies such as premium floor area ratio and advertisement bye law,” he said.
"Rules are framed on the lines of those in other cities including New Delhi where hoardings are allowed every 75 metres. We plan to tender out licences to the highest bidder. No advertisement will be allowed on footpaths. The advertiser must negotiate with property owners to install boards on private land. The policy can fetch additional revenue of Rs 500 crore to Rs 1000 crore a year.": Senior BBMP official
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