Turf war erupts between civic bodies over allotment of ad space

Sumit Hakhoo

Tribune News Service

Jammu, July 18

A turf war has erupted between the Jammu Development Authority (DA) and the Jammu Municipal Corporation (MC) over the allotment of advertisement space on the land owned by the former.

The DA has accused the MC of allowing hoardings by private companies without taking the authority into confidence and denying the share of revenue generated though such activities.

Sources said although as per the Municipal Act, 2000, the MC and the committees have the authority to give permission to lease out space for advertisements within its jurisdiction, senior officials in the DA allege that the civic body does not take them into confidence. A notice has been served on the advertisers to remove the hoardings within a week. At the official level, the MC and the committees have been asked to refrain from giving permission without getting a no-objection certificate from the DA.

A war of words was going on for several years between the two civic bodies responsible for the development of Jammu. Officials from both the bodies have failed to reach any agreement on the issue.

“The MC is giving permission to erect hoarding on our land without seeking the NoC. We have been raising the issue with officials concerned, but they continue to ignore it. We have no option but to take action,” said RK Shavan, vice-chairman, DA.

He said the municipality collected crores annually from such rental spaces. “This needs to stop now. We will take action to protect our interests,” Shavan said.

The DA was created in 1971 under the J&K Development Act and all vacant nazul land located within 13-km radius of Jammu was transferred to it. The MC takes care of 71 wards comprising 112 sq kms. However, both the organisations remain at loggerheads.

Rishpal Singh, joint commissioner (administration), MC, said it was acting as per the provisions of the Municipal Act. “The DA should read the Act and know about our role in the city. We are doing everything within the legal parameters and not illegally,” Singh said. However, he refused to comment on the concerns raised by the other side.

The audit report of the urban local bodies conducted in 2016 has exposed large-scale discrepancies in the allotment of space. The audit had revealed that many private companies and individuals were allowed to erect their hoardings without proper tendering process, leading to revenue loss of Rs 3.81 crore between 2013 and 2016.