All hoardings in the city will have a QR code, scanning which will let one know if the advertisement was put up with the nod of the Kolkata Municipal Corporation or not.
This will improve monitoring and increase chances of action against illegal hoardings, said officials.
The QR codes could be particularly handy in identifying unauthorised temporary hoardings — flexes and banners with wooden frames that are tied to railings, street poles and barricades.
KMC officials said there were numerous illegal temporary hoardings in the city since they were easier to make and hang than the ones rising on a footpath or ones hanging from buildings.
According to civic officials, “lack of human resources” makes it difficult for civic inspectors who are assigned zones of the city to spot illegal hoardings.
Now, any KMC employee would be able to scan and get the information if the hoarding had the KMC’s permission or not. They can pass on information about an illegal hoarding to the advertisement department for action.
Mayor Firhad Hakim announced the initiative on Saturday. Hakim said the QR codes will also enable common people to scan and identify an illegal hoarding.
“The municipal commissioner will issue a notification, after which all hoardings must install the QR code,” he said.
“Common people too will be able to scan the code.”
KMC officials said the page that will open when the code is scanned will have information about the advertisement — the agency that put up the advertisement, the duration for which the advertisement can remain displayed, the permission was given for how many hoardings/banners and on how many roads.
“It will help spot if more hoardings are put up than the authorised number or if a hoarding is on a road where it should not be. All new flexes and banners that will be printed once the notification is issued must have the QR code,” said an official.
Illegal advertisements, especially temporary hoardings, are an eyesore across the city. They are safety risks as the wooden frames and the banners often break and hang dangerously.
KMC officials said they have issued notices to 600 companies and advertising agencies since January for putting up illegal temporary advertisements in the city.
“We have collected about Rs 22 lakh as fine from those who put up illegal hoardings,” said the official.
Hakim also added that an advertisement policy, which has been in the works for over a year, will be implemented in April.
A draft advertisement policy for Kolkata, which could have reduced the number of hoardings in the city and improved monitoring of the structures, was published in May 2022 but has yet to be formalised.
Hakim wanted some changes in the draft policy and it has not been published yet.
“We have almost prepared the policy. We hope to implement it from next financial year,” he said.