Nine sets of bylaws on outdoor hoardings fail to cover loopholes

Cantonments, KMC officials continue to endorse illegal billboards despite SC orders

KARACHI:

Nine sets of bylaws govern the placement and size of billboards across the city, leaving ample loopholes for officials to justify Karachi turning into one giant advertisement.

Last week, the Supreme Court came down hard on Karachi and Faisal cantonments to take down illegal billboards erected on the part of Sharae Faisal that fell under their jurisdiction. Not even a single hoarding was taken down as apparently none of them classified as 'illegal'.

Cantonment Board Faisal's vice-chairperson Shahadatullah insisted that security agencies manage the billboards in their jurisdiction and the illegal ones are most likely placed by them. The board submitted a similar explanation in court as well, he said.



Cantonment Board Clifton's (CBC) revenue superintendent Faisal Khan Jadoon also claimed that they have not violated any laws by placing outdoor hoardings. There is neither any hoarding on footpaths nor on rooftops in CBC's jurisdiction, he said.



Leaving loopholes

Since the city comprises eight different cantonments and one metropolitan corporation, each body follows its own bylaws making it easy to manipulate them when authorising signboards that are too big or hinder traffic.

According to Sindh Outdoor Advertisers Association's (SOAA) general secretary Sajjad Haider, they take permission directly from the respective cantonment or the municipality before erecting any hoarding.

All civic agencies have been lying to the SC regarding the removal of the illegal hoardings as 80 per cent of the hoardings are still flouting the bylaws, he said. He pointed out that all such hoardings are erected on the behest of Karachi Metropolitan Corporation's (KMC) directors and the CEOs of cantonment boards. "Around 15 to 20 members sit on the cantonments' boards and approve illegal hoardings in the city," he claimed.

The Express Tribune dug deeper into what these bylaws say about the placement of hoardings and was only able to procure the ones for CBC. By and large, the bylaws of all cantonment boards are the same save a few exceptions, said CBC's law officer, Nadeem Rao.

Bylaws

According to the CBC bylaws, no person can erect an advertisement without the board's approval. Advertisements of mega size will generally be discouraged in urban areas but the board is allowed to give permission depending on individual cases, it states. It is usually this provision that allows huge signboards to go up. The bylaws also condemn the display of obscene and indecent material.

The board will decided where to place the billboard, which can in no way impair the visibility of any road traffic sign, states the bylaw. The maintenance of the billboard and its surrounding area has to be taken care of by the advertiser, who must ensure the signboard does not pose any danger. The bylaw restricts the placement of more than one sign at a particular site. If two billboards are joined together, the advertisement shall be displayed with the axis of symmetry perpendicular with the direction of the oncoming traffic.

Billboards cannot be placed within a radius of 150 metres from the centre of an intersection on an arterial road and within 150m from the centre of an intersection of any lower-order road. External illumination is permitted provided such illumination does not constitute a road safety hazard or cause undue disturbance

Similarly, for placement of billboards on rooftops, the bylaws state that sky-vision or other illuminated advertisement materials shall be discouraged on rooftops of building. But they may be allowed only after obtaining a no-objection certificate (NOC) from the owner of the building or the relvant traders' association.

CBC's Rao insisted that their board takes every decision after keeping in mind public interest. If the board thinks something is in favour of the public, they have the right to pass that decision, he said.

Exploitation

Civil engineer Ashar Lodhi pointed out that leaving such grey areas in the bylaws is a clear attempt to overwrite it.



NED University professor of architecture and planning Dr Noman Ahmed agreed. The advertisers try to identify the most attractive locations. If those locations, according to the bylaws, are not designated for hoardings, the board usually exercises its powers to issue the NOCs, he said.

These NOCs are administratively valid but it bypasses the technical approval process, said Dr Ahmed. According to him, it is easy to get information regarding billboards in KMC's jurisdiction but it is very difficult to do so for cantonment areas. Such bylaws never come out for public scrutiny, he added.

Rulebook: Guidelines for height of billboards:

Height                Dimensions

55 feet                 30x60 feet

31 feet                 15x45 feet

21 feet                 10x20 feet

12 feet                 8x12 feet

Published in The Express Tribune, March 15^th, 2016.