Hoardings to dot city skyline again

​Hyderabad: Over 1,200 towering hoardings, which were dismantled following collapse of some of them three months ago, are set to stage a comeback in the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation limits.

There are in all 2,700 hoardings, according to GHMC officials. The GHMC has now decided to digitalise about 1,500 hoardings soon in the first phase. It has issued instructions to remove 300 structures, which have been found unsafe and erected in violation norms.

The officials said the private agencies in order to set up hoardings, flexies and banners should provide their structural stability certificate issued by structural engineers. The GHMC officials also said that the private agencies concerned and structural engineers, who issued certification for hoarding structures, would be held responsible in the event of accident which resulted in damage to property and loss of life.

The officials said the GHMC would charge Rs 2,000 to Rs 3,000 per square metre for mini hoardings on central dividers, Rs 1,250 to Rs 1,750 per square metre for hoardings like Unipole and Rs 1,000 to Rs 1,500 per square metre for neon signs, wall paintings and flex boards.

Explaining the specifications, a senior GHMC official told The Hans India that "hoarding height should not exceed 40 feet from the ground and 80 feet in case of Unipoles. For roof-top hoardings, the maximum height permitted is 25 ft.

However, some agencies had erected hoarding at the height of 100 ft in places like Khairatabad, Banjara Hills, Jubilee Hills, Himayathnagar and Begumpet.
The GHMC advertising wing staff are hand in glove with the agencies and are allowing them to openly flout norms,” he said.Over 1,500 hoardings would be digitalised in next three months. The specifications for the digital hoardings would be announced soon, the official said.