Comments on the Draft BBMP Advertisement Bye-laws, 2024
Submission to the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike
The BBMP Advertisement Bye-Laws, 2006 were the first attempt to regulate outdoor advertising specifically for Bengaluru. They were framed by the BBMP in exercise of its powers under the Karnataka Municipal Corporations Act, 1976 (KMC Act, 1976), and approved by the state government. The bye-laws contained provisions on commercial hoardings, window advertisements, mobile displays, and inflatable media, among others. In 2018, the BBMP Council passed the Outdoor Signage and Public Messaging Bye-Laws, 2018, replacing the 2006 Bye-Laws and banning commercial hoardings in Bengaluru on all public rights-of-way on environmental and safety grounds. The legality of the ban was upheld by the Karnataka High Court.
In 2020, the Karnataka legislature enacted the BBMP Act as a separate legislation for the governance of Bengaluru in place of the KMC Act. In 2021, the state government published the BBMP Advertisement Rules, 2021, in addition to the 2018 Bye-Laws. The 2021 Rules sought to bring back commercial hoardings, and were withdrawn. The prohibition of commercial outdoor hoardings by the 2018 Bye-Laws foreclosed a significant source of municipal revenue for the BBMP.
The Government of Karnataka in exercise of the powers conferred by sub-section (35) of section 318 of the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike Act, 2020 (BBMP Act, 2020) is empowered to enact the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (Advertisement) Bye-laws, 2024. Section 157 of the BBMP Act, 2020 bestows power on the corporation to levy fees on every person who erects, exhibits, fixes or retains, upon or over any land, building, wall or structure any advertisement or who displays any advertisement to public view in any manner whatsoever, in any place whether public or private. Section 158 of the BBMP Act, 2020 prohibits the erection of advertisements without the written permission of the Chief Commissioner. In pursuance of the exercise of the aforementioned powers under the BBMP Act, 2020, BBMP may enact bye-laws to govern outdoor advertisements in the city of Bengaluru.
There are a number of pertinent issues that must be assessed prior to finalising a law that regulates outdoor advertising. While the imposition of advertisement fee creates an important revenue source for city corporations, issues around road safety, environmental restrictions, aesthetics etc. are of paramount significance. New rules are necessary in order to maximise revenue from advertising fees while keeping the best interests of the city in mind (such as considerations of aesthetics, road traffic safety, environmental concerns etc.)
This note puts forward our recommendations to the draft bye-laws. While we also elucidate upon broad considerations that the bye-laws must look at, we also present clause-by-clause suggestions to the draft Bill, wherever applicable. We have indicated our reasons for proposing the same in the column next to the text of the Bill.
Highlights from our suggestions:
I. Outdoor Advertising
- Road Traffic Safety and Minimising Visual Clutter: The Delhi Outdoor Advertising Policy, 2017 was created to balance safety, aesthetics, and revenue, following directives from the Supreme Court in the MC Mehta v. Union of India case (1994 Supp (3) SCC 717). It aims to prevent hazardous hoardings that distract road users and promotes reducing visual clutter and banning large billboards on major roads. It encourages outdoor ads in commercial areas and on public utilities, ensuring they don’t compromise their primary function. The policy prioritises road safety and city aesthetics, and similar guidelines are recommended for BBMP’s advertisement bye-laws.
- Environmental Considerations: The draft bye-laws should aim to balance municipal finance with environmental, safety, and aesthetic concerns by lifting the ban on commercial hoardings. Key recommendations include mandating solar power for new and existing billboard lighting, prohibiting PVC and plastic banners, and requiring the use of eco-friendly materials for advertisements. Additionally, all advertising materials should be approved by the Karnataka State Pollution Control Board.
- Content: Outdoor advertising, unlike online ads, is visible to all and requires content regulation to protect public interest, such as children’s welfare and social harmony. The draft bye-laws should suggest clear text for motorists, adherence to the Advertising Industry’s Code of Ethics, and removal of ads that pose traffic hazards. Additionally, it should also include both general and industry-specific regulations like the Consumer Protection Act and the Cigarettes and Tobacco Products Act, ensuring that content follows legal guidelines. Negative advertisements should be outlined in an annexure to the bye-laws.
- Buildings and Areas: Outdoor advertisements must be banned in protected areas, heritage sites, religious structures, educational institutions, parks, playfields, and libraries, with exceptions for entities involved in public-private partnerships for development or support. The bye-laws should include separate clauses for area-based restrictions and content based restrictions.
II. Public-Private Partnership in Outdoor Advertising
The criticism of the PPP model for advertising arises when the cost of developing infrastructure is lower than the value of advertising rights granted. Monitoring private entities under this model has been difficult, leading to uncontrolled advertising. The focus shifts to ad visibility over infrastructure utility. The draft bye-laws should address revenue leakages, set a capital limit for PPP use, enforce quality checks on PPP projects, and ensure transparency by making contracts public.
III. Advertisements on Transport Vehicles
The Karnataka Motor Vehicles Rules, 1989 allows advertisements on transport vehicles with permission from the regional transport authority. Private cars cannot be used for advertisements, while commercial vehicles can with approval. Authorities have raised concerns that transit advertisements may distract drivers and lead to accidents, leading to a 2005 prohibition and further restrictions in 2019 by the Karnataka transport department. A No Objection Certificate from the traffic police department should be mandatory for transit advertising to ensure it does not disrupt traffic or cause visual pollution. A distinction between parked and moving vehicle advertisements should also be made in local laws.
IV. Temporary Outdoor Advertisements
The draft bye-laws should include provisions for temporary advertisements for events like cultural or business activities. These advertisements must comply with environmental and safety regulations, pay applicable fees and be dismantled within a specified period, such as seven days. The regulatory authority should keep digital records of permits and ensure compliance with penalties for non-compliance, including dismantling without notice and imposing costs on the installer.
V. Innovative Outdoor Advertisements
The bye-laws must address emerging forms of advertisements, such as balloons, aerial ads and new technologies like directional sound and facial recognition. Guidelines should ensure compliance with existing safety and aviation rules while future technologies should be accommodated with a flexible clause allowing for the adaptation of the bye-laws to new advertising methods after stakeholder consultations.
VI. Disposal of Hoardings and Banners
There should be a specific provision for the proper disposal of outdated or hazardous banners and hoardings to prevent visual clutter and safety hazards. Penalties should be imposed for failure to remove or dispose of these structures, ensuring timely and safe clearance of such advertisements from public spaces.
VII. Inspection of Advertisements
The draft bye-laws should enhance coordination between agencies like BBMP and BMTC to prevent gaps in advertisement management and enforcement. The Advertisement Regulatory Committee should have defined roles to monitor compliance and oversee the removal of unauthorised advertisements, ensuring clear lines of responsibility among various authorities involved.
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About the Authors
Sneha is a Senior Resident Fellow and Team Lead at Vidhi, Karnataka working on urban development and municipal governance. She is interested in constitutional law, international law, local governance. She holds an undergraduate degree in law from Symbiosis Law School, Pune and obtained the BCL from the University of Oxford.
Deepa is a Senior Resident Fellow at Vidhi, Karnataka. Her research interests lie in the interplay between technology, data and urban policy. Prior to joining Vidhi, Deepa interned with Aapti Institute where she researched on data stewardship models and the governance of non-personal data. She holds an undergraduate degree in law from School of Law, CHRIST (Deemed to be University), Bangalore.
Raghunandan Sriram was a Research Fellow at Vidhi Karnataka. His areas of interest include constitutional law and community rights, particularly religious and cultural freedoms, the governance of Scheduled Areas, forest rights, as well as land and water rights. He has previously interned with the Land Rights Initiative at the Centre for Policy Research. He graduated from NALSAR University of Law in 2023 with a B.A., LL.B. (Hons). He enjoys listening to music, singing, reading and travelling.
Varini G is a BA LLB (Batch of 2023) graduate from the School of Law, Christ University, Bengaluru. She currently works as a Research Fellow with the Karnataka team assisting various departments and local governments in Karnataka. Her primary interests are local governance, devolution of power, urbanism and socio-economic rights through critical and feminist approaches to the law, policy and governance. She believes in participatory approaches, radical decentralisation and equitable access to cities. Her nonacademic interests are reading speculative fiction and exploring different music cultures. She enjoys a history of everything, the outdoors, nature and spicy food.
Sourabh is a Research Fellow at the Karnataka team of Vidhi. He graduated from the National Law University and Judicial Academy, Assam in 2020 with a B.A., LL.B. (Hons.) degree. His academic interests include administrative law, climate change frameworks and local governance. Previously, Sourabh worked as a legal practitioner, providing strategic support to an early-stage startup, and as a Law Clerk in the Office of the Chief Justice at the High Court of Karnataka. Sourabh’s long-term goal is to develop a nuanced understanding of the first principles involved in legal policy for consensus-building in multi-stakeholder environments. Beyond his professional interests, he enjoys football, gastronomy, numismatics, improv theatre and reading.