BMC to incorporate citizens’ suggestion of displaying hoardings on ‘dead walls’

Mumbai: The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) is set to include a key suggestion made by citizens in its Draft Outdoor Advertisement Policy 2024—using “dead walls” in buildings and housing societies to display hoardings.

In advertising parlance, a dead wall refers to a blank, uninterrupted building wall with no windows or doors, offering an ideal surface for large-scale advertisements like billboards and murals.

According to a senior official from the BMC’s licence department, the civic body received 404 suggestions and objections (127 online and 277 offline) related to the draft policy, which was released in August last year. “We are considering the suggestion on allowing hoardings in buildings and housing societies with dead walls, where there are no windows,” the official confirmed.

Although the BMC has previously permitted hoardings on dead walls, this provision has not been part of its draft hoarding policy. Once the new policy is approved, housing societies will be able to monetise dead wall spaces by displaying billboards.

While the proposal to allow hoardings on dead walls is being incorporated into the revised policy draft, some other suggestions and objections raised during a public hearing in January have not been considered.

This includes the widespread concern over the proposal to reduce the distance between hoardings from 100 metres to 70 metres, which citizens and stakeholders from the advertising industry felt could clutter the city’s skyline and impact safety. “We have decided to keep it unchanged, and it will be 70 metres,” a senior BMC official said.

Advertisers had also demanded the annual 10% increase in hoarding fees to be rolled back. It isn’t clear whether this suggestion has been included.

The BMC received suggestions and objections on 21 different topics, including permissions for using dead walls, fee relaxation, and display time limits for LED hoardings. Around 109 applications were submitted to request an extension for filing suggestions and objections.

Among the proposed changes in the new draft policy is reducing the minimum dwell time of images in digital hoardings from 10 seconds to 8 seconds. This move is aimed at addressing concerns over light pollution, a recurring complaint from both citizens and motorists. The policy also emphasises environmental responsibility and public safety over commercial gains.

The revised draft policy, incorporating select suggestions, is now awaiting final approval from municipal commissioner Bhushan Gagrani. Once approved, it will be formally amended into an Act.

The BMC decided to review its hoarding policy after a tragic incident in May last year when a massive 120x120-foot billboard collapsed in Ghatkopar, killing 17 people. The collapse of the illegal hoarding, which stood on land belonging to the Government Railway Police, has intensified the spotlight on the city’s advertising regulations and the need for stricter regulations.