The updated SOP determines clear liability to civil officials, strengthens coordination with the police and introduces stricter provisions on recovery aimed at eradicating illegal bending, banners, cut -outs and similar public displays. | Photo Credit: File Photos
Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) has released a new standard operational procedure (SOP), which intensified its intervention against unauthorized ads and replaced the earlier framework with a more coordinated and enforceable structure.
The updated SOP determines clear liability to civil officials, strengthens coordination with the police and introduces stricter provisions on recovery aimed at eradicating illegal bending, banners, cut -outs and similar public displays.
The core of the revision is to create reserved teams to control BBMP advertising in each zone. These teams, which consist of junior, assistants and assistants of executive engineers, will work in close coordination with marshals, domestic guards and local police to identify, remove and penalize unauthorized accumulation. The assistant of the executive engineer of the relevant subdivision will supervise these operations and ensure that the complaints are registered against the violators.
For trouble -free implementation, each department designated engineers will have responsible for filing complaints with the local police. In the absence of permanent employees, contractual workers may be deployed. BBMP officials were also entitled to recover the cost of removing advertising along with fines by treating them as real estate tax arrears, under Section 161 of the BBMP Act, 2020. SOP emphasizes that no banner, cutout or advertising can be shown without a written authorization from BBMP.
The reserved control room will work from each office of a powerful engineer assistant who will receive public complaints by telephone or BBMP Help (1533). Police stations are obliged to appoint nodal officers for continuous cooperation with BBMP teams, while coercive workers such as Hoysala patrol units must inform BBMP about any ongoing or newly built illegal ads.
Police and BBMP teams are expected to respond immediately after receiving this information, to remove advertising and register FIRS according to several legal provisions, including the Karnataka Open Places Act (Prevention of Disfigurement), the Indian Criminal Code and the Public Property Damage Act. FIRS must name both the installation program and the recipient of the advertising and, if necessary, the criminal proceedings, including arrests, will be monitored.
Revised Mandates SOP 24/7 Availability of advertising staff across zones, publication of contact details for public access and assignment of nodes to coordinate enforcement at each police station. BBMP Commissioner and Police Commissioner regularly review the implementation and efficiency of the SOP.
Published – April 24, 2025 9:14
