Chandigarh, Nov 19 (PTI) Haryana’s Urban Local Bodies department will run a mega cleanliness drive in all cities within the next 10-15 days, during which any illegally placed posters, stickers, and other advertising materials will be removed, Minister Vipul Goel informed the State Assembly on Tuesday.
The Urban Local Bodies Minister was replying during the calling attention motion of the opposition on the issue of defacement of public properties in the State with stickers, bills, posters etc which were being illegally put up by various persons across the state.
Goel also assured the House that the government was contemplating to bring an Act in near future which will contain stringent provisions against those who deface public property.
The minister also said that concerned officials will be made accountable wherever posters, banners, hoardings are illegally put up on public property.
Congress member B B Batra said the towns of Haryana are being defaced as several people illegally fix stickers, bills, posters on public properties.
“These are being illegally put on metro pillars, flyovers, elevated roads, bridges, government properties, schools, colleges, boundary walls etc,” Batra said and asked the government it should spell out what steps have been taken to stop such practice.
In response, Vipul Goel said that when anyone illegally puts up the posters, banners etc, it is violative of the provisions under the Haryana Prevention of Defacement of Property Act, 1989 and the Haryana Municipal Acts.
He said that as per provisions of the Haryana Municipal Act 1973 and the Haryana Municipal Corporation Act 1994, any advertisement within the municipal limit is prohibited without the prior permission of the municipal authority.
Goel said that the government has notified the Haryana Municipal Advertisement bye laws on July 15, 2022 for the purpose of regulating and allowing legal way of advertisements within municipal areas.
He said that under these byelaws, the advertisement on properties of Government entities and agencies can only be permitted through open e-auction for which an online portal has also been launched on October 11, 2022.
The Minister said that the municipalities in the State are taking regular action against such illegal stickers, bills, posters and flexes on public properties and illegal advertisements by way of their removal and penalizing the violators via enforcement drives undertaken from time to time.
As per action taken reports received from the municipalities, 1,915 notices have been issued to violators and total 3,022 enforcement drives have been conducted.
In these drives total 1,08,334 posters, bills, stickers, advertisements, flexes have been removed in last two financial years, that is 2023-24 and 2024-25, under the provisions of the Haryana Municipal Act 1973, the Haryana Municipal Corporation Act, 1994, the Haryana Prevention of Defacement of Property Act, 1989, he said.
Goel said that the Haryana Municipal Advertisement Byelaws, 2022 also provides a mechanism to allow legal advertisements in the municipalities for generating revenue, via an open auction based online system.
Till date, through this system, total 624 public sites have been auctioned for Rs 133.22 crores and total 3871 permissions on private properties for Rs 141.14 crores have been granted. PTI SUN NB NB
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