Bhubaneswar: BMC removes 13 rooftop hoardings

BHUBANESWAR: Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) on Wednesday removed 13 rooftop hoardings in Chandrasekharpur area. These hoardings are not only illegal but also makes city’s skyline cluttered and unsafe for commuters.
The civic body has decided that it will collect holding tax in commercial rate from the house owners, who have allowed advertisers to have rooftop hoardings illegally from their buildings.
Srimanta Mishra, deputy commissioner (Revenue), said as per the Advertisement Rules 2006 notified by the state government, the Municipal Commissioner is empowered to remove any unauthorised advertisement from the city.These hoardings could be removed as per the order of the Municipal Commissioner, he added.
Some of these hoardings are equal to the size of the rooftops they are on, making the structures vulnerable to the wind related damages as the wind load remains high during occasions like cyclones and other calamities. It poses threat to the passerby, if it falls on them.
Meanwhile, the BMC, on Wednesday asked all the Zonal Deputy Commissioners (ZDCs) to make the assessment of holding tax on the houses or structures, which are having rooftop hoardings on them.
The ZDCs were also given a list of buildings in 16 stretches from the 40 km priority corridor across the city for the Hockey World Cup-2018, along which, the building owners have rooftop hoardings and are earning revenue from them.