'No provision for license fee waive off’ clarifies Mumbai civic body in an affidavit

In a Bombay High Court hearing, held on June 19 this year, on the matter of OOH media license fee waive off for the month of May following complete lockdown, Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai (MCGM) has expressed that license fees cannot be waived even if hoardings are advertising civic messages.

The affidavit presented by MCGM said, “There is no provision in any statute, rule, policy or license condition that contemplates that if the license holders are unable to display the advertisement for any reason whatsoever, they will be entitled to waiver of license fees. They have failed to make out any constitutional or legal right for such waiver of license fees”.

The top eight media owners, running contracts allotted by the MCGM, had filed a petition in the Bombay High court raising the license fee demand for May month, which saw lockdown situation. Infact, they were running awareness campaigns on the outbreak off Covid19 on their media as directed by the MCGM.

Clarifying in the affidavit, Joint superintendent, MCGM, said, “Hoardings were required to be displayed for a period of 10 days only and there was no need to give any fresh notice or letter for removal of the same. The agencies are intentionally misreading our notice. The notice does not contemplate that any further instructions would be issued for removing the hoardings.”

The affidavit also mentioned that as per MCGM guidelines, it is mandatory on part of the agency to display a civic message as and when directed by the authority for a period of 15 days in a year for free of cost.

"The commercial arrangements between the private advertisers and the licensees are not within our scope and ambit. We are in no way responsible for any such breakdown in the commercial relationship of the licensees and the same cannot be a ground for a grant of waiver of license fees without any legal or statutory basis for the same,” MCGM said while urging the bench to dismiss the plea.

Also, these leading media owning firms have been asked to submit replies in written, by June 26. On this, the media owners are preparing strong replies on the pointers mentioned by the MCGM. Along with that, they are taking reference from other authorities such as Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport (BEST), Indian Railways and Airport Authority of India, who haven’t collected any fee for the months when the lockdown was imposed in the country.