PANAJI
Following suo-moto cognisance from the High Court of Bombay at Goa with regards to haphazard and illegal outdoor advertisement devices, the State government has 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.
Chief Minister Pramod Sawant on Monday 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 government proposes to have a GIS-based Outdoor Advertisement Device Master Plan for the State and geo-tag all the outdoor advertisement devices erected, constructed or placed as referred to in the section.
The Bill has introduced hefty penalties of Rs one lakh for the display of advertisements without registration or permission from the authority. It has also said that the individual or agency would be granted 30 days’ time, post payment of penalty to apply, during which Rs 1000 per day would be charged as penalty interest and a further Rs 2,000 per day, after a 30-day window period.
“The High Court of Bombay at Goa has taken suo-moto cognizance of various illegal outdoor advertisement devices, particularly in the nature of hoardings erected along the roads at various places across the State of Goa. The Court voiced its concern over the detrimental effect the haphazard erection of such hoardings had on vehicular traffic as well as the safety of the general public. The haphazard erection of such outdoor advertisement devices in addition to being a nuisance, very often contained objectionable content as well as content that distracted drivers and motorists,” the Bill stated.
“Therefore, the present Bill aims to establish a comprehensive legal framework for the erection, regulation and control of outdoor advertisement devices and the display thereon,” it said further.
According to the Bill, no outdoor advertisement device would be erected/ constructed on sloping or non-developable slope land with a gradient of more than 25%, protected forest land and wildlife sanctuaries; wetlands; khazan lands, CRZ areas, Protected Monuments, World Heritage Areas; Cremation grounds and graveyards; open spaces, etc.
Presently there are several different statutes which govern the erection, regulation and control of such outdoor advertisement devices as well as the display of advertisements thereon. Additionally, there are several different authorities responsible for the grant of permission as well as overseeing the implementation of the said statutes.
“In order to bring the entire legal regime pertaining to outdoor advertisement devices and displays under one single statute and to streamline the grant of permissions as well as the regulation of the erection of the outdoor media devices and the contents of the display the present Bill has been proposed,” the government said.
The Bill proposes to constitute a Goa Advertisement Regulatory Committee under the Director of the Department of Information and Publicity to advise and make recommendations to the Government in matters relating to advertisement, outdoor Advertisement devices and displays.
“Every person or agency intending to erect, construct, or place an outdoor Advertisement device shall apply for registration to the Competent Authority (ESG). Also, already erected, constructed or placed or is using an already erected, constructed or placed outdoor Advertisement device for the purpose of display, or is displaying without the user of an outdoor advertisement device has to apply for registration within six months from the coming into force of this Bill,” it said.
The registration will remain valid for a period of five years in the case of local authorities and Government departments and for a period of three years in other cases unless specifically cancelled by the Competent Authority and it will be automatically renewed on payment of fees.
