Lok Sewa Club files complaint against adverts on flyovers

Our Correspondent

Advertisement

Khanna, September 3

Even though pasting advertisements on walls of flyovers of the National Highway has been declared illegal, yet the Municipal Council of Khanna and private companies/academies have used the walls to spread awareness campaigns launched by Central or state government, and thus have committed an offence under the Defacement of Government Property Act.

An NGO, Lok Sewa Club, took a note on the matter and has uploaded a complaint on the Chief Minister’s online complaint portal. As a result, some institutes have removed their advertisements from the walls. Owing to the inaction of the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) in the matter, a complaint has been sent to the Prime Minister Office (PMO) as well against the NHAI authorities by the NGO. The complaint is under consideration.

PD Bansal, president, Lok Sewa Club said: “Municipal Council, Khanna, let the companies/academies free to advertise their institutes on the walls of the NH-1 in the form of wall paintings under the shelter of awareness drives. Neither the Khanna MC nor the companies has permission from the either the government or the NHAI to do so. These illegal activities have been going on under a joint operation of private companies/academies and MC Khanna authorities, which has been represented before the higher authorities by our NGO.”

Bansal stated in a reply to the executive officer, Khanna MC, on the website of the CM, that on May 30 notices had been issued to various institutes/academies regarding the matter. But when no action was initiated by them, we demanded record of those notices under the RTI Act to proceed further. The Khanna MC office issued new notices to the institutes on August 19. As a result, some institutes removed their advertisements/wall paintings from the flyovers, whereas, some institutes were adamant to keep them. No action has been taken by the MC against the institutes despite the fact that more than three months have passed.

The whole matter was represented to the project director, NHAI, Ambala, on February 22 demanding action against the authorities concerned as well as the institutes but no action had ben taken by them. Now a complaint against the project director has been registered on the PMO online complaint portal which is under process in the Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances.