An association of outdoor advertisers has moved Calcutta High Court, challenging the Kolkata Municipal Corporation's decision to remove all private hoardings that hang from buildings or any private premises on Park Street, Camac Street and Shakespeare Sarani.
Hoardings and billboards standing on pavements will not be removed, but their space will be reduced. These are called government hoardings as the structures are owned by the KMC or other government departments.
Officials of the KMC said the objective behind its decision was to declutter the three streets, arguably among Calcutta's most high-visibility commercial stretches.
"The petitioner (the Outdoor Advertising Association) has argued that the decision violates their fundamental right to do business. We were served a copy of the petition recently," an official of KMC said. "We are preparing our reply," the official added.
The Outdoor Advertising Association has approximately 75 members, comprising companies and agencies that are involved in placing advertisements on billboards and hoardings throughout the city.
A member of the association, who requested not to be named, said the petition also argues that if the KMC decision were implemented, "dozens of people who earn their livelihood by putting up banners on these billboards will lose an opportunity to earn".
He added that a municipal body in a south Indian city had taken a similar decision earlier. "The outdoor advertising agencies there challenged the municipal body's decision in the high court, and the court struck down the decision. We have cited this instance in our petition," said the member.
A KMC official said the new Kolkata Municipal Corporation (Advertisement Policy) Regulations, 2025, mention that private hoardings will not be allowed along Park Street and Camac Street.
The decision to implement the same measures along Shakespeare Sarani was taken about two months ago and approved by the mayoral council of KMC, said an official.
"We will not only disallow private hoardings, but we will also reduce the space and number of hoardings on pavements. The existing government hoarding space on these three streets is 21,000 square feet. We will reduce it to 18,000sqft," said the official.
The stated objective is to "make the roads look cleaner".
"Even the right to advertise in government hoardings on pavements is handed over to an outdoor agency through a tendering process," said the official.
The KMC has also decided to remove all existing hoardings and billboards on Park Street, Shakespeare Sarani and Camac Street and replace them with a new advertising system.
The KMC announced an e-auction with a base price of ₹16 crore annually, with rates increasing every three years, in September.
An official said three companies have submitted bids in response to the advertisement for auction. "We will go through the bids and see if they fulfil all the required criteria. If they do so, they will take part in an e-auction in the next phase. If even one of the companies does not fulfil the required criteria, we have to go for a fresh call for bids because rules do not permit us to go for an e-auction with only two bidders," said the official.