Will the wait for hoardings comeback on Bengaluru streets end soon?

While the Karnataka Government nod for re-introduction of large format OOH in the areas under the jurisdiction of Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) is awaited, media reports indicate that the BBMP Advertisement Byelaws 2023, which is set to replace the BBMP Outdoor Advertisement and Public Message Byelaws 2018, will provision for erection of hoardings and billboards that are purportedly larger than those operated before the BBMP ban on outdoor advertising was enforced in August 2018.

While the new draft byelaws prohibit erection of hoardings on roads of less than 60 ft width, as explained in a Deccan Herald report, an 80-100 ft wide road could have hoardings with up to 1,000 sq.ft. display area, provided the display width is no more than 40 ft. “What’s more, the advertiser will get permission to install such boards every 100 metres of a particular stretch,” the DH report states.

“While minimum paid advertisement area will be 800 square feet, the maximum is 3,000 square feet, a giant. The BBMP has also fixed the maximum height at 75 feet,” the report adds.

The draft new byelaw is also facilitating advertising on Metro Rail pillars, outside Metro rail stations, at BMTC terminals and bus stops, as well as public toilets.