Illegal banner : Big Bazaar fined Rs 4L, Pista House Rs 2L

Hyderabad: Following two different complaints, the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC), on Monday, imposed a fine of Rs 4 lakh on Big Bazaar, Tarnaka and a fine of Rs 1 lakh on Pista House, AS Rao Nagar, Secunderabad for erecting advertisement banners illegally.

The Enforcement, Vigilance and Disaster Management (EV&DM) wing of GHMC fined GVK One Mall and Forum Sujana Mall for the erection of an unauthorised advertisement element above 15-feet height from the ground- level.

On October 3, complainant Vijay Gopal tweeted to the EV&DM team about the erection of the illegal advertisement banner on the walls of Big Bazaar while Sai Kumar complained about the illegal ad banner on Pista House.

On October 4, the EV&DM team registered the complaint and generated an e-challan on October 5, while imposing a fine against both the parties.

The violators have erected illegal advertisements without permission from the competent authorities which is an offence committed under Sections 420,421 of the GHMC Act and as per GO MS No. 68 dated April 20, 2020, stated EV&DM in the e-challan.

According to the Directorate of EV&DM, erection of advertisements, displayed/painted advertisements, use of flashing lights or non-static illumination in the advertisements, size of advertisements or name board exceeding 15 per cent of the frontage of the building, use of moving, rotating or variable message advertising devices, operating an advertisement element without valid Structural Stability Certificate, an advertisement placed in a manner of any additional board, structure or projection on the body of the vehicle/use of Illuminated advertisements with brightness more than the allowed limit without any written permission from the competent authority is an offence committed under the Sections 420, 421 of the GHMC Act.