Sambalpur, April 4: The civic body has decided to install 92 hoardings across the city to earn revenue from commercial advertisements.

The Sambalpur Municipal Corporation has also floated a tender for the fabrication and erection of the advertisement hoardings.

"Individuals or companies, who display advertisements of their products on the hoardings, will pay the corporation for it," said the civic body's deputy commissioner Sudhansu Bhoi. The corporation has also removed the privately owned hoardings, which were installed at several places along city roads.

"The civic body has a potential to earn around Rs 1 crore from advertisement hoardings. However, it could earn only Rs 25 lakh from advertisements in the last fiscal. We are hopeful that we will be able to reach the Rs 1 crore target from advertisements after we install our own hoardings," Bhoi said.

The corporation has also decided to frame rules to regulate the displaying of advertisement hoardings atop private buildings. "There are numerous buildings in strategic locations that have installed hoardings. Several business houses and companies use the hoardings atop private building to advertise their products and offer yearly revenue to the house owners. However, they do not have to pay anything to the corporation. However, we will shortly make it mandatory for the companies, which display advertisements atop private buildings, to register themselves with the civic body and pay the fees, fixed by it," Bhoi said.

He also said the civic body could carry out several development works in the corporation area using the revenue generated from these advertisement hoardings.

"Sambalpur has become a municipal corporation now with several new areas merged with the town to make it one. The civic body could earn huge revenues from advertisement hoardings. However, it loses out on the revenue because of the absence of its own hoardings. It should install its own hoardings at the earliest to generate income," said local resident Dinesh Pradhan.