PANAJI
The Goa Legislative Assembly’s select committee, appointed to deliberate on ‘The Goa Outdoor Advertisement (Regulations & Control) Bill, 2025’, has decided to redraft the Bill.
The Committee has to submit its report to the Legislative Assembly before June 26. Accordingly, based on the suggestions and inputs provided by the members, the Secretary Law and Director Information and Publicity, are directed to rework on the bill.
The Select Committee, chaired by Tourism Minister Rohan Khaunte held its second meeting on Monday, wherein the members demanded that the bill be re-drafted to regulate the outdoor advertisements and restricting the powers of the bill to outdoor hoardings and not small advertisements.
The members of the committee include MLA Vijai Sardesai, Carlos Alemida, Jeet Arolkar and Nilesh Cabral, who all submitted their views/suggestions in writing for consideration.
Speaking to media persons post meeting, Khaunte said that the committee has received inputs from the members and the same are submitted to the Director Information and Publicity, who in consultation with Law Secretary will rework on it.
“We have to place the Bill in the coming monsoon session. We need to submit the Bill before June 26. Accordingly, a draft will be placed before the members in the coming meeting, scheduled on Monday, June 16,” Khaunte said.
Congress MLA Carlos Ferreira said that the committee has decided to redraft the Bill and the new draft will be placed before the members in the coming meeting. “Have demanded that the Bill be restricted to only outdoor hoardings as the concern raised by the court,” he said.
During the Budget Session, the State government introduced ‘The Goa Outdoor Advertisement (Regulations & Control) Bill, 2025’ proposing to appoint the Entertainment Society of Goa (ESG) as a competent authority to regulate and control the erection and placement of outdoor advertisement devices across the State.
The bill, drafted following suo-moto cognisance from the High Court of Bombay at Goa with regards to haphazard and illegal outdoor advertisement devices proposed to ban erection or display of outdoor advertisements in No Development Zones (NDZ), protected areas, Khazan land, wetlands and other ecologically and archaeologically sensitive areas.
As opposition raised serious concerns and flaws in the Bill, the same was referred to the Select Committee for further consideration and deliberation.
