Hyderabad: The State government initiated steps to implement the Telangana new advertisement policy to curb illegal hoardings in the Telangana Core Urban Region and strengthen municipal revenue. Officials prepared the draft framework and began revising it by incorporating suggestions given by Chief Minister Revanth Reddy during a recent review. The government will place the proposal before the Cabinet on the 23rd of this month.
Cabinet set to clear Telangana new advertisement policy
Authorities plan to enforce the Telangana new advertisement policy across three municipal corporations through a common framework. The Chief Minister reviewed the proposal in detail at a recent meeting. Earlier, the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation allowed commercial advertisements on hoardings and unipoles within its jurisdiction. However, after strong winds caused several hoardings to collapse and led to accidents, the corporation imposed a ban in 2020.
Advertising agencies then approached the court, stating they had invested heavily in hoardings and suffered losses due to the ban. The previous BRS administration prepared a draft policy, but it did not introduce it formally. The present government has now revived the exercise and moved it forward. Officials confirmed that the Cabinet will examine the revised draft at its upcoming meeting.
PPP model to drive structured rollout
The government decided to adopt a Public Private Partnership model in the advertisement sector. Under this approach, private agencies will install selected hoardings and unipoles for a fixed term. After the agreed period, they will transfer the assets to the respective civic body. This structure will help corporations avoid upfront expenditure. At the same time, it will enable them to generate steady revenue through regulated allocations.
Authorities identified locations near traffic signals, flyovers and selected private buildings for installations. They also decided to monitor maintenance more closely this time. The Chief Minister directed officials to ensure that advertisement revenue does not leak or divert. He instructed departments to maintain transparency in allotment, installation and supervision.
Although the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation prepared the base proposal, the government will extend the policy uniformly to all three corporations in the region. Officials said the guidelines will clearly define permitted zones and cap the number of hoardings and unipoles. They will also prescribe structural norms to prevent safety risks.
The draft further mandates that corporations reserve 10 per cent of total advertisement space for government scheme promotion. Authorities will allocate the remaining space through an online auction process to ensure transparency and competition. Officials are finalising the operational guidelines ahead of Cabinet discussion.