BMC to determine ideal brightness level for digital hoardings

According to senior officials, a committee constituted to draft the policy guidelines for display of outdoor advertisement discussed the technical details pertaining to the ideal brightness levels, environmental impact, traffic safety concerns as well as the structural stability of the LED hoardings, which have been witnessing an increased demands over the past few years.

The committee consists of the Joint Commissioner of Police (Traffic), two senior civic officials, three IIT experts as well as one expert from an environmental institute.

Civic data shows that Mumbai is home to 1045 authorised hoardings, of which, 573 are non-illuminated, 382 are illuminated and 70 are LED hoardings. These hoardings had generated a revenue of Rs 100 crore, last year.

While the civic body has been taking to enhance its hoarding policy which had earlier remained unchanged since 2008, it has also increased its actions against the unauthorised hoardings, since the hoarding collapse in Ghatkopar on May 13 which claimed 17 lives.

Last week, the Supreme Court directed the Central and Western Railways and others to follow ‘in letter and spirit’ the May 15 notice issued by the BMC’s Disaster Management Authority to remove oversized and unauthorised hoardings erected on railway premises.