All hoardings put up before Durga Puja must display the name of the puja committees from next year, Calcutta mayor Firhad Hakim said on Friday.

This move aims to hold the committees accountable for removing the hoardings on time, as the Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) plans to take action against those who fail to comply.

Hoardings can be seen along stretches of some arterial roads in Calcutta, though nearly a month has passed since Vijaya Dashami (October 2).

Bamboo frames on which the hoardings were hung are still standing along several other roads.

The KMC had set a seven-day deadline from Vijaya Dashami to remove the hoardings, but it was flouted with impunity.

"We will make it mandatory to display the names of puja committees on the hoardings from next year. This will help us identify the committee responsible for ensuring the removal of the hoardings," Hakim said.

Although the KMC does not earn any revenue from the temporary hoardings put up before Durga Puja, Calcutta's roads get cloaked by the giant banners and hoardings.

The puja committees go into agreements among themselves, dividing roads. The advertisers pay the committees for displaying the products.

The civic body has issued notices to nearly 20 companies whose advertisements remained on billboards after the deadline for removal.

KMC officials said the letters were sent to the companies because it was not possible to know which puja committee had bagged the payment for a particular advertisement, as the boards did not display that.

KMC sources said only a handful of hoardings had the name of the puja committees displayed on the hoardings this year.

"When we ask, the puja committees pass on the blame to another. It becomes difficult to know who exactly is responsible for that particular hoarding," said the official.

Besides the hoardings and their bamboo frames, Puja pandals are still standing in many parks in the city, or at least in portions of the parks.