Disagreement over ads holds up three transport projects

The bone of contention is displaying advertisements on these vehicles. While Secretary (Transport) Ram Niwas has approved the display of ads,Secretary (Finance) Sanjay Kumar said displaying them would be against the Chandigarh Advertisement Control Order.

“The city should be rid of advertisements at pubic places and from vehicles. We cannot allow ads on school buses,non-AC cabs and radio autos. This is against the Chandigarh Advertisement Control Order,” Kumar said.

Agreeing that the projects are stuck due to differences,Niwas said,“After getting clearance from the Transport department,all these projects are stuck with the Finance department over the issue of advertisements. I would soon hold a meeting with Secretary (Finance) to sort out the issue.”

“The justification given by the Finance Secretary that the city would turn into a garbage dump with these ads is baseless. What about the population of four lakh slum dwellers in the city? With such discriminatory attitude,viability of the projects is questioned. The Chandigarh Advertisement Control Order should have some kind of unanimity,” Niwas added.

A senior official of the Administration said,“The city has so many advertisements of cultural programmes like mushairas for which Secretary (Finance) has the administrative powers,but the display of advertisements on vehicles running for public service is being denied.”

“Also there is some ambiguity over the disapproval. Air-conditioned radio cabs are allowed to display ads,but non-AC ones are denied,” the official added.

Responding to this,Kumar said,“Permission to display ads on AC cabs was granted only because the Finance department was able to make the operators agree to lower the fares from Rs 17 to Rs 15 per km for three years.”

The difference of opinion between the two Secretaries was evident earlier also when

Niwas notified a reduction in the fare of AC cabs from Rs 15 to Rs 13 per km in February,but Kumar disapproved with the decision and re-notified the continuation of the earlier fare.