Charting the road map for OOH that co-exists with urban aesthetics

Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) is proposing a new framework for outdoor advertising that seeks to balance the growth of the OOH industry with public safety, urban aesthetics and the civic body’s revenue interests.
Presenting the proposed Ahmedabad Outdoor Advertisement Rules, 2026, at Gujarat Talks OOH, Riddhesh said the objective was to create an environment in which the outdoor advertising industry could grow while operating within clearly defined parameters.
“The idea is not to regulate. Idea is to flourish and not regulation. But the direction should be on the right way,” he said.

Acknowledging the challenges AMC currently faces with outdoor advertising in the city, Riddhesh said his approach was to resolve existing issues while finding ways to promote the medium. The city’s 2023 outdoor advertisement policy is currently under litigation in the High Court. The proposed 2026 rules are intended to supersede the earlier policy and cover static, digital, mobile, temporary and event-related advertising devices visible from public streets.

The proposed Ahmedabad Outdoor Advertisement Rules, 2026, introduce a four-stage assessment for OOH permissions based on road width, minimum spacing between advertising devices, visual clutter and permissible advertising area within a 200-metre stretch. The framework also outlines operating standards for digital displays, including brightness limits, spacing and emergency controls, alongside heritage-specific guidelines. It proposes three licensing routes based on infrastructure ownership, revised licence tenures, a formula-based annual advertising fee, structural safety and sustainability requirements, penalties of up to ₹5 lakh, and a digital register with a GIS-based advertisement inventory map. The draft seeks to balance industry growth, public safety, urban aesthetics and AMC’s revenue interests.

Read the full article in the December edition of Outdoor Asia.