SC summons report on outdoor hoardings’ bylaws

Court orders provincial law officer to discuss issue with relevant stakeholders

KARACHI: The Supreme Court (SC) observed on Friday that dangerously over-sized illegal billboards and signboards cannot be permitted under the shadow of bylaws or preferred over human lives.

A bench, headed by Justice Amir Hani Muslim, asked the provincial law officer to discuss the issue of laws that regulate outdoor advertising boards with stakeholders and submit report within a month.

The bench, which also comprised Justices Sheikh Azmat Saeed and Khilji Arif Hussain, was hearing a case relating to the levy of excessive tax on outdoor signboards and billboards in the city.

At the outset of the proceedings at the SC's Karachi registry, the judges inquired whether their order passed on Thursday to removal illegal hoardings along the city's main thoroughfare - Shahra-e-Faisal - had been complied with.

The chief executive officers of the Clifton and Faisal cantonment boards were ordered to personally appear with written explanations for the non-compliance of the court's directives to clear the areas within their jurisdictions of such hazardous boards, which was ordered in August last year.

During the hearing, representatives of the cantonment boards were present. They submitted that there are bylaws under which the outdoor advertisements and boards are regulated.

Karachi's acting administrator, Roshan Sheikh, claimed that the country's largest outdoor advertising board has been installed at the FTC Flyover. He stated that the area falls within the jurisdiction of the Clifton Cantonment Board (CBC). Disputing the administrator's claim, CBC's representatives claimed the area was under the control of the Karachi Cantonment Board (KCB). The judges sought an explanation from the KCB representatives but none were present at the hearing. This irritated the bench members, who came down hard on the KCB's chief executive officer for not appearing in the court, despite the issuance of directives to the deputy attorney-general.

The court was informed that neither the chief executive officer nor any of his representatives were present, as the notice was not issued to them.

The judges ordered the chief executive officers of the Karachi, Faisal and Clifton cantonment boards to be present during future hearings, for which no notices will be issued to them, as the deputy attorney-general will communicate these directives to them upon receiving the court's notice.

A provincial law officer, Mukesh Kumar, sought time to discuss the matter of the bylaws that regulate the outdoor advertisements with the stakeholders, including the three concerned cantonment boards and other agencies.

Allowing the request, the bench directed the officer to hold a meeting with the stakeholders and submit a report regarding the bylaws that the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation, the cantonment boards, the Defence Housing Authority and other agencies have regarding outdoor advertisment boards. The report will be submitted within a month. Representatives of the Faisal Cantonment Board said 117 illegal hoardings have not been removed and that letters have been sent to the Station Headquarters, the Pakistan Navy, Civil Aviation Authority, Pakistan Air Force and Pakistan railway authorities.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 12^th, 2016.