Illegal hoardings across the city cause a major revenue loss to the Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) and a “racket” is involved in the business, mayor Firhad Hakim said on Tuesday while speaking on the civic budget that was tabled on Saturday.
Hakim said he kept the revenue target from advertisements for 2024-25 the same as the current fiscal — Rs 100 crore — though this year’s collection has been far less than the target.
But even the Rs 100 crore is a small target, the mayor said, referring to illegal billboards that have mushroomed in the city, causing a major revenue loss to the KMC.
The civic body must pull down any advertisement that lacks a QR code, Hakim said. Advertisements that do not have a QR code are illegal.
The mayor also promised that the new advertisement policy — whose draft was published in May 2022 but has yet to be formalised — will soon be implemented.
Debashis Kumar, the mayoral council member in charge of the advertisement department of the KMC, had said that a redrafted advertisement policy, based on suggestions and objections received after the draft was published in 2022, had been submitted to the mayor in January.
The KMC’s budget estimate for 2023-24 had set a target of raising Rs 100 crore from outdoor advertisements. But in the revised estimate, the target has been brought down to Rs 19 crore.
Yet, the budget estimate for 2024-25 has set a target of Rs 100 crore. “I have again set a target of Rs 100 crore from advertisements. I am not satisfied with this amount either,” he said.
“There is a racket running the business (of illegal hoardings). Some companies run it with their might. The KMC loses revenue. The illegal hoardings cause a big loss of revenue,” he said.
“All advertisements should have QR codes and any advertisement without a QR code should be pulled down,” the mayor said.
Hakim had announced in December that all hoardings in the city would have a QR code.
A KMC official said QR codes are being given, since January 1, only to "temporary" structures — flexes and banners with wooden frames and usually tied to railings, poles and barricades.
The companies giving advertisements have been told to print QR codes on the flexes. “Scanning the QR code will reveal details like the duration of the permission and the number of hoardings permitted,” said the official.
The reality is different. Dozens of illegal hoardings can be seen along all important thoroughfares in the city.
KMC officials said a section of the illegal hoardings was put up without the permission of the civic body. The rest were put up before the QR code system was introduced and hence, are now illegal, the officials said.
Mayoral council member Kumar said in his speech in the civic house on Tuesday that the KMC had proposed to have all hoardings in the city under its custody.
“There are many government departments that now have the power to allow advertisements, but common people think that the KMC is responsible for managing advertisements. We have proposed in the new policy that all hoardings and advertisements in the city should come under the KMC's custody,” he said.
