Defacement of public property rampant in Karnal

Defacement of public property is rampant in Karnal city, where posters and advertisements continue to appear at every nook and corner, which is a violation of the Haryana Prevention of Defacement of the Property Act, 1989. The Act aims at preventing defacement of property.

Flyovers, walls and other public spaces are covered with posters, banners and advertisements, many of which have been displayed with the permission from the authorities concerned.

Unauthorised posters are a common sight across the city even after the Karnal Municipal Corporation (KMC) has made guidelines for displaying hoardings and flex boards. This tarnishes the aesthetic appeal of public spaces and poses problem for vehicular movement.

As per the data, there are 116 unipoles, self-advertisement sites in the city, of which 11 have been auctioned to a company which further allows advertisers to display their hoardings and flex boards.

Despite the provision, the rampant defacement of public property raises questions on the authorities. Residents alleged that the authorities appeared to be spectators. They demanded action against people for defacing public property. “People continue to spoil the beauty of the city. The authorities need to act swiftly to penalise violators and restore the city’s cleanliness,” said Saurabh Kadyan, a resident.

However, the authorities claimed that they took action against the violators. So far, they have issued 13 challans of up to Rs 10,000 to the violators. Besides, they claimed to remove 733 illegal hoardings and flex boards between August 11, 2023 and October 4, 2024 in the city.

“We remove illegal hoardings, flex boards and advertisements. We also issue challans to the violators. We carry out a special drive on every Tuesday and Thursday to remove illegal hoardings and flex boards,” said Dr Vaishali Sharma, Commissioner, KMC.

“We also write to the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) and UHBVN for removal of illegal posters, flex boards and advertisements on flyovers as well as on electric poles,” said the Commissioner.

She warned the violators to take permission from the KMC, otherwise action would be taken, including imposing fines and recovery for defacement of public property.

Displaying advertisements without taking permission is an act of violation, she added.