BBMP accused of ‘deal’ with known defaulter on LED boards

Bengaluru: A private advertiser, Sign Post India Pvt Ltd, which was granted permission to install 1,560 LED boards on footpaths and medians across Bengaluru, owes the BBMP nearly Rs 62 crore in advertisement fees and ground rent.

This crucial information was reportedly not disclosed to the Karnataka High Court during a “compromise deal”, according to a complaint filed with the BBMP leadership.

Last year, the advertising firm approached the high court after the BBMP refused permission to install LED hoardings, despite the firm constructing nearly 400 police kiosks at no charge.

The original agreement stipulated that the LED boards should only be installed atop these kiosks, but the advertiser began placing them far away from the designated locations.

The then Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai had instructed the BBMP to revoke the advertiser’s permissions, with similar requests coming from the traffic police and the Urban Development Department.

With the change in disposition putting Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar at the helm of the Bengaluru Development Ministry, the BBMP signed a joint memorandum of compromise with Sign Post in June. Under the revised terms, the advertiser was allowed to install four smaller LED boards for every one originally approved. Consequently, these boards have appeared on footpaths and medians across the city.

S Amaresh, managing trustee of the RTI Study Centre, has threatened to approach the Lokayukta if the BBMP does not legally annul the agreement. He also accused the civic body of concealing the fact that the advertiser was a defaulter who should have been blacklisted.

Sign Post India Pvt Ltd is listed as a defaulter on the BBMP website, having previously built bus shelters and skywalks under a public-private partnership in exchange for 20 years of advertisement rights.