Bengaluru large format media owners stepping up efforts to put business back on the rails

This week the winds will likely blow in favour of the Bengaluru large format media owners as their advocates may get a fair chance of raising a question on the validity of Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) August 6, 2018 resolution by which a 1-year ban on advertising on large formats in the BBMP limits was enforced in August 2018. The hoarding media owners in the city feel that they already had deemed permission for displaying advertisement on hoardings unless the new advertisement bylaws ‘Outdoor Signage and Public Messaging Bylaws 2018’ replaces the advertisement bylaws of 2006. They also feel that the adjudication order that was passed to the individual hoarding owners earlier appears to be illegal as the documents that they submitted were declared to be incorrect by the authority. Under these circumstances, the hoarding owners will get their chance to challenge the validity of the BBMP resolution that banned the advertisement on hoardings last year.

There was no relief for the large format media owners as the new advertisement bylaws 2018 is lying with the Additional Chief Secretary who has been deputed for making certain changes that are pending the approval from the Deputy Chief Minister. According to industry sources, the new advertisement bylaw 2018 was not ready to be submitted before the High Court on June 21 and therefore there was no movement in that regard.