The municipal administration has taken the initiative to revive the suspended hoarding policy of the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC).
The proposal by municipal commissioner Mahesh Pathak for it would be put before the general body (GB) on Thursday.
The state government had suspended the hoarding policy on August 11, under which the city is divided in four parts and monopoly rights of displaying advertisements on hoardings in these zones would be given to highest bidders.
Tenders were recently opened and it became clear that the PMC would get Rs41 crore per year in licence fee for hoarding, thanks to the policy, instead of Rs6 crore it earned in the last three years.
The GB had passed a resolution on February 18 approving the hoarding policy. A writ petition was filed in the Bombay high court challenging it.
Following a directive by the court, the urban development department of the state government conducted a hearing on the issue in presence of representatives of Pune Outdoor Advertising Association (POAA) and the PMC.
The urban development department has issued an order saying that the resolution passed by the GB has been suspended by it for not following the procedure of formulating rules.
The municipal commissioner has said in his proposal that the GB may give permission to remove the errors pointed out by the state government and to revive the resolution of the GB on the hoarding policy.
He has also sought permission for publishing an advertisement and to call suggestions and objections from citizens about the policy, as well as to conduct hearing on all suggestions and objections.
He has asked for permission to submit the proposal before the government after completion of procedure and also to get extension from the state government for two months.
