The Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation’s standing committee has prohibited the planting of large trees around new advertising hoardings, after repeated instances of trees being excessively trimmed to keep billboards visible, according to a report by Gujarat Samachar – Ahmedabad published on October 9, 2026.
Under the decision, only trees of limited height may be planted near the sites of new hoardings. The civic body’s move follows complaints and recent action against advertising agencies for cutting back trees along roads and dividers to improve the visibility of outdoor advertisements.
The report said the issue has been observed on prominent routes, including areas around Shahibaug, the airport and the Sabarmati Riverfront, where hoardings are installed at intervals of roughly 100 to 200 metres. The decision has also raised a basic urban-planning question: if large trees cannot be planted near hoardings, where will the city create space for new roadside greenery?
The restriction is intended to prevent conflicts between tree growth and advertising visibility, but it also places the management of public streets, commercial signage and urban vegetation within the same regulatory frame. The civic body’s earlier response to unauthorised or excessive trimming has focused on penalties against agencies responsible for damaging trees.
In another decision reported from the standing committee meeting, a cleaning agency responsible for parts of the Sabarmati Riverfront was fined ₹1 lakh over debris and unclean conditions near Subhash Bridge. The report attributed the penalty to the presence of waste and construction debris in the area.
The civic body is also expected to introduce an online payment facility for tree-trimming charges. Residents who currently pay ₹200 for trimming work at civic centres will be able to make the payment online once the facility is operational, according to the report.
The committee further directed the estate department to review plots whose payments have not been completed and initiate steps to recover them. Two plots allotted in Aganaj and Motera in 2023 for the construction of sub-division offices were reportedly taken back after ₹50 crore due to the Uttar Gujarat Vij Company Limited remained unpaid. The department has been asked to prepare a list of other plots with outstanding payments and begin further action.
The meeting also reviewed the cleaning of municipal water tanks. Of Ahmedabad’s 243 water tanks, only 96 were cleaned during the previous six months, the report said. Officials were directed to ensure that the remaining tanks are cleaned on schedule. The civic decisions will now require implementation by the relevant municipal departments, including estate management, Riverfront maintenance, tree-trimming services and water-supply administration.
