Illegal hoardings are a cause of concern for the Ranchi Municipal Corporation. Picture by Hardeep Singh

Ranchi, May 8: Concerned over the blatant flouting of civic norms, the Ranchi Municipal Corporation (RMC) has decided to act tough against all the advertising agencies for installing illegal hoardings.

?There are many advertising agencies that install hoardings without taking permission from the municipal corporation. We have also received complaints about using walls for advertisements. We have taken serious note of it,? said a senior RMC official.

According to the norms, the advertising agencies are required to get permission from the corporation for any advertisements through hoardings, wall writings and electronic boards on Main Road, public or private land, government and private buildings. The official said this violates Sections 196,197 and 200 of the RMC Act.

After the corporation receives applications, a team from RMC visits the spot and ensures that placement of hoardings are technically correct. This is done to avoid any untoward incident.

The official added that recently a hoarding installed on a building fell down due to excessive load.

?It could have caused an accident but fortunately, no one got hurt. We can?t take chances for future. There are many such hoardings on roads that are posing threat to the commuters,? he said.

Concerned over the situation, the corporation has given a week?s time to all the advertising agencies to seek permission for displaying hoardings.

?If they fail to comply with our instruction within a week, the RMC will not only take legal action under Section 200 of the RMC Act but also impose a penalty of them,? the official added.

The corporation wants to regularise all the hoardings in the city so that they do not cause any accident.