AP High Court Directs Civic Authorities to Follow Guidelines on Billboards

Anantapur: The High Court on Tuesday directed the Municipal Administration department to strictly follow the guidelines laid down by the Supreme Court vis-a-vis installation of billboards/advertisement boards on roads and highways.

This follows a writ petition filed by SMD Hanif of Anantapur over the sprouting of unauthorised boards along roads, in the HC last. His reference was to the hoardings and flex banners in Anantapur town, alleging that the municipal authorities who granted the permission acted in violation of prescribed rules.

The HC bench, after hearing arguments, directed the municipal administration to take immediate action in strict compliance with the judicial directions and applicable legal framework.

Specifically, it must ensure strict enforcement of all existing rules, regulations and guidelines governing erection of hoardings, billboards and advertising structures. Identify and remove all unauthorized/illegal hoardings erected on roads, road margins and medians, highways and junctions and areas obstructing traffic visibility or pedestrian movement, the HC said.

The court directed the department to verify structural and safety compliance of all permitted advertisement boards, ensuring they do not pose any hazard to the public and should prevent fresh illegal installations by instituting monitoring mechanisms and fixing accountability on concerned officials.

The HC asked the department to submit a detailed compliance report including: the list of authorized vs unauthorized hoardings, action taken for removal with photographic evidence (before & after) and steps taken for future regulation.

The matter is scheduled to come up for further hearing on April 10. Any lapse in compliance would be viewed seriously, the court said.

AG Anil Kumar, founder of Discover Anantapur, which has also been fighting on illegal hoardings in Anantapur for the last four years, welcomed the judgement.