The city corporation council has approved the hoarding bylaw to regulate illegal billboards and advertisements in the city.
At a special council meeting here on Thursday, it approved the bylaw prepared by the town planning committee that will come into force from the day of the state government approval and notification in the gazette.
During the discussion, the development committee chairman, T.J. Vinod, suggested that bus shelters should also be included in the purview of the bylaw which was approved by the council.
The opposition councillor, N.A. Shafeeq, demanded that the structural stability of all big hoardings be ensured.
As per the bylaw, all hoardings that are more than 12 sq metres in length should have a stability certificate approved from a structural engineer.
While taking part in the discussion, opposition leader K.J. Jacob remarked that before erecting hoardings on private holdings, permission from the land owner should be made mandatory.
“Several advertisement boards have been erected on private land without the consent of the landowner,” he said.
The mayor Tony Chammany replied that the civic body would conduct a special drive to inspect all hoardings and billboards in the city to check their legitimacy.
Tony Chammany, told the council that the bylaw was approved incorporating all the proposed amendments.