Hoardings in Goa

PANJIM: If everything goes fine, then anyone who wants to advertise on the highways need to take permission of the local authority (under the relevant Act) and of the Collector (under the Goa Prevention of Defacement of Property) Act.

Further, the person who has erected hoardings would have to produce permissions obtained by them from the Collector in terms of clause (1) and if no permission has been obtained, either from the local Authority or from the Collector or from both, the concerned person shall immediately apply for such permission.

Accordingly, an application for license has to be made to the Collector within a period of 90 days and any such application must be accompanied by a license from the local authority and shall, be in accordance with procedure laid down in the rules framed under the Goa Prevention of Defacement of Property Act. The Collector shall dispose of the application within a period of 6 months from receipt of the same.

Further, if no application is made then the Collector shall direct removal of those hoardings at the cost of such person who is put the hoarding and if the Collector refuses any application for license, then Collector shall follow the same procedure for its removal as given in clause (8) above.

These were some of the suggestions made by the state government to the Division bench of the High Court of Bombay at Goa, while hearing a suo moto writ petition to examine the legality and propriety of hoardings in the state.

Further, it was also recommended that the Collector (North) and Collector (South) shall prepare list of hoardings existing within their respective jurisdiction. The Court while hearing these suggestions also asked for the suggestions of the All Goa Hoarding Owner's Association
.

It must be recalled that the High Court had taken suo moto cognizance to a news item published in GT under the heading, "Drive cautiously, Billboard may…" on June 5, 2007. Reacting to the news item, the court had stated that this shows that billboards are being erected without obtaining NOCs from local authorities and in violation of the 40 metre set back rule set out by the Indian Road Congress and without the NOC's of Traffic cell as well.



According to the Court, it is in public interest that the local authority exercise proper control with the said billboards and order their removal wherever the rules and regulations are not being adhered to.