Kathmandu, June 25

Despite the Supreme Court’s ban, hoarding boards, flex boards, pamphlets and posters continue to clutter and pollute public places in Kathmandu Valley.

According to KMC’s Advertising Board Promotional Material Regulation 2013, all types of advertising materials placed on rooftops are illegal. If hoarding boards, billboards, flex boards among others, cause visual pollution, such materials should be immediately removed.

KMC’s Implementation Division Chief Dhanapati Sapkota admitted that the hoarding boards had reappeared due to ineffective monitoring.

“Since they were banned about four years ago, we have removed hoarding boards and other such promotional materials from public places only once.” Sapkota told The Himalayan Times.

However, the Revenue Collection Division of KMC denied the reappearance of illegal hoarding boards in the metropolitan city. Chief of the division Mahesh Kafle said no hoarding board was erected illegally in restricted places.

“Only such promotional materials that disfigure the city and pose a threat to harmony and security are illegal. If they have been placed following KMC guidelines, there is no need of removing them,” Kafle added.

He added that KMC has warned the supplier of cell phone for illegally erecting a hoarding board advertising the cell phone’s brand at Baneshwor Chowk. He said a KMC team would visit the place after a few days to remove the board if it is still there.

KMC claims advertisers were following its regulation while erecting advertising materials on overhead bridges. To reduce the ‘visual pollution’, KMC had removed all illegal hoarding boards in 2014.

According to Solid Waste Management Act- 1981, those found guilty of polluting public places can be fined from Rs 5,000 to Rs 15,000. However, the act is not strictly implemented.

Kathmandu Metropolitan City gives permission to put up advertisements on electricity poles, public walls, and hoarding boards for a certain fee. Private companies, schools, and colleges can easily get permission to erect advertising materials by paying between Rs 3,000 and Rs 50,000 to KMC.