Hyderabad Central fined Rs 3 L for illegal advertisements

Hyderabad: The Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) on 30 October imposed a fine of Rs 3 lakh against Hyderabad Central, Punjagutta for illegal advertisements.

The Enforcement Vigilance and Disaster Management (EV&DM) wing of the GHMC fined the establishments for unauthorised advertisement display above 15 feet from the ground.

The team was acting based on the Complainant filed by activist Vijay Gopal.

Hyd Central , Punjagutta, fined 3 lacs for illegal hoardings. Ty @CENTRAL2402hyd https://t.co/qc6LyOMM5d

— VijayGopal (@VijayGopal_) October 30, 2020

[amp-tweet tweetid="https://twitter.com/VijayGopal_/status/1322080471036043265"]

The EV&DM team registered the complaint and generated an e-challan on October 30, while imposing a fine.

According to the EV&DM, the outlets had set up illegal advertisements without permission from authorities concerned which is an offence under sections 420 and 421of the GHMC Act and as per a government order issued on 20 April 2020.

According to the directorate of EV&DM, erecting advertisements, displaying painted advertisements, use of flashing lights or non-static illumination in advertisements, flouting rules regarding the size of advertisements or name boards exceeding 15 per cent of the frontage of the building, use of moving, rotating, or variable message advertising devices.

Operating an advertisement element without the valid structural stability certificate, placing an advertisement on any additional board, structure, or projection on the body of a vehicle, and use of illuminated advertisements with brightness more than the allowed limit without any written permission from the authority concerned are offences under the GHMC Act.

Earlier, the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation has revealed that its Enforcement and Vigilance wing(EVDM) has slapped hefty fines against illegal advertisement amounting Rs. 46,19,54,300 from 13 March 2018 to 19 September 2020. The total amount collected through fines and challans amounted to Rs. 2,36,32,100 for the same period.

The GHMC also revealed that after imposing a penalty on the establishments for erecting banners, the DRF teams removed the illegal advertisements.

The amount which is collected by the Enforcement and Vigilance Wing of the GHMC is transferred to the accounts of the GHMC commissioner at the end of every month.