Gwalior News: Earning of agencies in square feet, revenue of corporation inch by inch

Gwalior News: Gwalior (Naiduniya Representative). Questions are constantly raised against the Municipal Corporation officials regarding illegal hoardings in the city. After the rebuke of the High Court, control on illegal hoardings has started in the corporation, but with the connivance of the agency operators and the corporation staff, a new system has been implemented. The place and size is marked by the corporation in the tender of hoardings and Unipole, but the agency operators do not put hoardings of the prescribed size at the fixed place. After this, an application is made to the corporation and a separate space is sought to complete the size i.e. square feet.

Due to this, in the package where three to four hoardings or unipoles are fixed, in the name of completing the square feet, five to six unipoles are being installed. In such a situation, the corporation is getting revenue only from the rates fixed in the package, while the agency operators are earning from these new hoardings and unipoles. Actually, contracts for hoardings and unipoles were made by the Municipal Corporation as per the package in the city. Eight packages were decided for this. In these packages, GPS location, length and width of hoardings and unipoles, collector guidelines and three years’ offset value were mentioned. On this basis the agency operators also took contracts. After that, by starting the game of setting, now the number of Unipols is being increased citing non-fulfillment of prescribed square feet of Unipol. This has happened at three to four places in the city. In this case, the agency operators make the excuse that even after paying full revenue to the corporation, they are getting less space. In such a situation, full space should be given and after that hoardings and unipoles are being installed arbitrarily. Now corporation officials say that this matter will be investigated and action will be taken.

what does the rule say

What the rules say: According to Madhya Pradesh Outdoor Media Rules, after marking the location and size, hoardings and unipoles of the same size are to be installed. No changes can be made in these. Apart from this, as per the rules, the fare is decided as per the collector guidelines of each location. In such a situation, the location cannot be changed citing completion of square feet, because this also changes the collector guidelines and the corporation suffers loss of revenue.

Three unipoles installed near petrol pump, preparation to install fourth

Under package number two prescribed by the Municipal Corporation, three unipoles can be installed near the petrol pump at station Bajariya. The locations of these three unipoles are also marked on the package. Unipoles are currently installed at these three places, but the contractor agency sought permission to install the fourth unipole citing insufficient square feet. With the connivance of the lower staff, permission was also issued, after which now a platform has been prepared for installing the fourth unipole on the right edge of the park. This platform is right on the edge. There had been attempts to install unipole here twice in the past, but the then Municipal Commissioner Kishore Kanyal had stopped the work.

I will check. This matter has come to my notice through you. I get it checked that despite the earlier fixed number of unipoles being installed, preparations are being made to install the fourth unipole. Other cases will also be shown.

Munish Singh Sikarwar, Additional Commissioner Municipal Corporation