KARACHI, May 3: A meeting held at the Governor’s House on Wednesday under the chairmanship of Governor Dr Ishratul Ibad decided to make Sharea Faisal billboard-free by June 30 this year.

The meeting also decided to meet all legal requirements in this regard and not to grant permission of installing any billboard along one of the major roads of the metropolis from now onwards.

The Chief Secretary, Fazalur Rehman, City Nazim Syed Mustafa Kamal, Air Officer Commanding of Southern Air Command, and high officials of cantonment boards, railways, navy, military land and other departments attended the meeting.

It reviewed the mushroom growth of billboards in the city giving it an ugly look and posing threat to the live and property of people.

The governor stressed the need for joint efforts of various civic institutions for beautifying the city and providing better facilities to citizens.

In this regard, a coordination committee comprising senior representatives from cantonment boards and all concerned departments was constituted. The committee will be headed by the city nazim.

The committee will work for streamlining rules and laws regarding advertisement boards, buildings and other related matters.

The governor directed preparation of the terms of reference of the committee within a week’s time. He made it clear that no activity, giving the city an ugly look, will be allowed, emphasising setting of regulations for billboards’ quality, strength, splendour, distance and selection of proper place for them.

He called for enforcement of such regulations by all departments in their respective jurisdictions.He also took stern notice of hoardings installed on residential buildings and footpaths in a haphazard manner and issued directives for taking action in this regard.

The meeting was told that except the city government and institutions providing civic facilities including cantonment boards, no public or private institution had the authority to allow installation of billboards in the city.

It was further informed that the city government had so far removed 1,500 unauthorised billboards from the city.—PPI