The reason why there are fewer hoardings in Pune

The economic slowdown has resulted in a 50 per cent dip in outdoor advertising in the city

The reason why there are fewer hoardings in Pune

The economic slowdown has resulted in a 50 per cent dip in outdoor advertising in the city

Like Mumbai, which is reeling from a dip of around 65 per cent in advertising on outdoor hoardings, Pune's outdoor advertising industry has also taken a hit in this economic slowdown.

According to D K Bandekar, Mumbai director of the Hoarding Owners' Association, "My friends in Pune tell me that the hoarding business has been hit here as well," he said.

A member of the Pune Outdoor Advertising Association, Haseeb Faqui, said Pune's outdoor publicity business has gone down by 40 to 50 per cent. "This is mainly due to the real estate advertisers' cut in advertising expend- iture," he said. They are traditionally the largest advertisers.

"The financial sector and the telecom industry have also reduced their spending," added Faqui.

PMC's earnings

As per PMC records till the end of 2008, there are 1,805 authorised hoardings in the city, which add Rs 1.3 crore to the civic body's kitty annually.

The Pune Cantonment Board (PCB) has approximately 100 authorised hoardings, which generate an annual revenue of Rs 20 lakh. But these earnings have come down, said Bandekar.

However, Ravi Karandeek-ar's Pune Real Estate Market News posted a blog in November 2008 saying the PMC expects to collect Rs 5.4 crore through skysign charges on hoardings. So far, it has collected Rs 3.14 crore.

Once the new tariff comes into effect, the civic body hopes to generate an additional Rs 5 crore.
u00a0
Presently, PMC's skysign charges are Rs 60 per sq m for a non-illuminated hoarding and Rs 75 for an illuminated one.

These need to be revised, said a PMC urban development source, adding, "If we double the charges, we expect a revenue of about Rs 11 crore from it," he added.