With writing on the wall for city, government plans crackdown

NEW DELHI: Taking a serious note of rampant increase in illegal advertisements, posters , banners and wall paintings in the city, Delhi government on Monday submitted in Delhi high court a policy on their removal and enforcement of Delhi Prevention of Defacement of Property (DPDP) Act, 2007.

The move comes following the court’s order on a PIL filed by Colonel (Retd) Shivraj in January against non-compliance of DPDP Act and nonformulation of a policy by the lieutenant governor in 2018.

On March 1, TOI had reported how even a decade after the formulation of DPDP Act, there has been no reduction in the number of illegal commercial and political advertisements in the city. Delhi government’s policy emphasises on identifying three authorised sites in each ward for displaying messages of political and social nature within two months after the completion of the general election.

The policy also stresses on evaluation of the municipal or Delhi Police official concerned on the basis of defacement-free areas under their jurisdiction. “The policy will be implemented with immediate effect. The urban local bodies (ULB) will have to update details on the 311 mobile app. EDMC has already taken many steps and the other civic agencies will have to follow suit,” said a senior Delhi government official.

The app will allow geo-capturing of unauthorised advertisements by the general public and government officials. Based on the complaint, the officer concerned will need to take action within 24 hours. “All ULBs will upload the list of authorised unipoles with their geo-mapped locations. The rest will be considered illegal,” the government official said.

Considering the concerns raised by urban experts over lack of coordination among civic agencies and police and inconsistent poster removal efforts, the Delhi Police commissioner has been asked to extend full cooperation in implementation of the policy.

“During the joint meetings, we raised matters such as lack of cooperation between the departments and delay in filing of FIRs. The police commissioner has been requested to issue a circular to register FIRs as and when ULBs approach cops. In case of delay, the SHO of the area will be liable for disciplinary action. The DCPs will conduct a monthly progress review,” said a senior SDMC official.

DCPs and ULB officials will conduct special weekly drives to check violations. “Violators will be fined Rs 5,000 or expenses incurred in removing the defacement,” the official added.

While the move has been welcome by the general public, they have raised concerns over its compliance.

“Despite the Outdoor Advertisement Policy, 2017 and DPDP Act being in place, there is hardly any change on the ground. Every street, lane and even metro pillars have posters pasted there illegally. The situation is worse near educational institutes as the areas are littered with advertisements of coaching centres. Illegal hoardings can be seen erected along highways and main roads,” said Ved Pal, councillor from Aya Nagar.

Colonel Shivraj, who began the Poster Hatao campaign in 2009, said, “If the civic agencies can remove all advertisements and posters within a day of implementation of the model code of conduct, they can do the same with illegal ones.”