Cuttack, Sept. 10: The municipal corporation is set to implement the Odisha Outdoor Advertisement and Hoarding Policy-2015, which the state government rolled out through a gazette notification on January 21.

As part of its implementation of the new policy, the civic body has decided to first impose heavy penalties for illegal hoardings and unauthorised billboards, which have been mushrooming in the city in the absence of punitive measures.

The policy will be applicable to all advertisement and hoardings on any land, building, wall, structure or any vehicle that falls within the limits of the municipal corporation, while making written permission from the civic body compulsory.

Under the new rule, the civic body can take punitive action against the violators by imposing a fine. "The municipal council yesterday approved slapping a penalty for unauthorised hoardings at the rate of 20 times the prevailing advertisement tariff," municipal commissioner Gyana Das told The Telegraph today.

This means violators will have to cough up a penalty at the rate of Rs 1,400 to Rs 1,600 per sqft as against the existing tariff of Rs 70 to Rs 80 per sqft. "A special squad with an independent officer in charge will be ready within a week to check the hoardings that have come up without permission across the city," Das said.

No person or advertisers except those licensed or registered with the Cuttack Municipal Corporation will be allowed display any advertisement on behalf of others.

The policy has provision for the civic body and road owning departments to be the competent authority to jointly regulate the outdoor advertisements to protect the safety of road commuters. "A core committee has been constituted for verification and approval of new advertisements," Das said.

The committee, headed by the municipal commissioner, includes a deputy commissioner of the municipal corporation, the executive engineer roads and buildings (Cuttack) and officers representing the irrigation department, Central Electricity Service Utility and the national highways.

The civic body will shortly start a survey to identify outdoor advertisements that satisfy the guidelines of the new rules. "Going by the guidelines prescribed in the policy, more than 40 per cent of the billboards and hoardings across the city will have to be removed," said Bikash Ranjan Behera, head of the standing committee for licence and appeal.

"Since the policy has been prepared by the state works department as a road safety measure, the permission criteria for display of advertising devices are intended to ensure that a high level of safety for road users is maintained and traffic efficiency is assured,' Behera said.

The new rule restricts placing of advertising device anywhere under any category that will obstruct free movement of road users. It prohibits location of billboards at major intersections, bends and curves and hoardings or advertisement boards that hinder the effectiveness of a traffic control system.