Kolkata Municipal Corporation has introduced a new permission system for hoardings, banners and flexes installed on city roads during Durga Puja, requiring organisers to obtain a no-objection certificate before putting up festival advertising structures. Applications must be submitted to the civic body’s advertisement department between September 20 and 25.
Under the new arrangement, puja organisers will be allowed to install bamboo structures and advertising displays only from October 3 to October 28. A senior official from the civic department said hoardings, flexes and banners could not be installed before October 3. Organisers must also remove them by October 22, failing which the civic body will take action under municipal law.
The Kolkata Municipal Corporation’s move is aimed at bringing a practice that has largely operated without written permission within a defined regulatory framework. During the festival season, bamboo frames carrying commercial advertisements are commonly erected near puja pandals and along adjoining roads. According to the report, such structures have in the past remained in place long after the festival, creating obstruction and safety concerns.
The permission process will include several restrictions on the design and placement of the advertising structures. Bamboo frames cannot be taller than 22 feet from ground level. Hoardings cannot be installed on road dividers, and organisers must ensure that the displays do not obstruct existing permanent hoardings, street lighting or bus shelters.
Applicants will also have to provide the size of each proposed hoarding or banner. The display must carry the name of the puja organiser as well as the advertiser’s name, address and telephone number. These requirements are intended to identify the parties responsible for the structures and the advertising material placed in public areas.
A civic advertisement department official said the time limits were being introduced after repeated complaints about hoardings, banners and flexes occupying roads during the puja period. The official said the corporation was fixing deadlines for both installation and removal based on those complaints.
The new process makes the civic body’s role more direct in managing temporary advertising infrastructure around festival venues. For organisers, the immediate requirement is to apply within the specified September window and provide the proposed dimensions and advertiser details. The corporation’s stated next step is to regulate installation from October 3 and enforce removal by October 22 under the applicable municipal law.
