Agra civic body to slap double house tax for illegal hoardings

Unable to prevent display of illegal hoardings over buildings, Agra Municipal Corporation (AMC) administration is now planning to crack the whip not only against the advertisement agency concerned but also property owners by imposing double house tax on them. Following a survey on MG Road and Trans Yamuna Road, AMC has identified 100 properties displaying hoardings illegally. Notices are being issued to the owners of these properties. According to sources, around three dozen advertisement agencies are registered with the civic body. Out of these, 18 owe the civic body Rs 98 crore as dues. The AMC administration has already issued recovery certificates against these agencies. Now, action will be taken against owners of buildings for allowing commercial use of the roof for illegal installation of hoardings. Municipal corporation's executive engineer AK Singh said, "One hundred premises have been identified for illegal display of rooftop hoardings. Notices are being issued to them. Double house tax will be recovered from them." Despite drives undertaken by AMC, large illegal hoardings dot MG Road, Trans Yamuna area and major market places, where they have been erected without any official permission from AMC. Though AMC has identified 100 illegal rooftop hoardings across the city, in reality, the number is more than 1,000, said sources. The number of large hoardings and cutouts placed on private properties is estimated to be more than 10,000, they added. As per the norms, the MG Road stretch from Bhagwan Talkies to Pratapura is supposed to be hoarding-free zone. On all crossings at MG Road, hoardings are prohibited to be installed within 100 meters on both sides of the road but more than 500 hoardings are on display on this stretch alone. A large numbers of hoardings are also installed in the narrow roads of the old city area and other parts of the city, including Kamla Nagar, Shastripuram, Sikandra-Bodla road, Shamshabad road and Fatehabad road. In April, the AMC under its new advertisement policy had identified 796 spots for putting up hoardings and unipoles. Putting up hoardings elsewhere was banned and those violating the rule had been warned of strict action.