Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation’s Standing Committee has prohibited the planting of large trees around new advertising hoardings, after repeated instances of roadside and divider trees being trimmed heavily to keep billboards visible. The committee took the decision at its meeting reported on October 9, while allowing only some low-height trees near new hoardings.
The restriction follows complaints that trees along roads and dividers have been cut back or reduced to stumps by advertising agencies seeking unobstructed visibility. The issue has reportedly surfaced repeatedly in Ahmedabad, including along prominent routes near Shahibaug, the airport and the Sabarmati Riverfront, where hoardings are seen at intervals of roughly 100 to 200 metres.
The committee’s decision means that areas earmarked for new hoardings will not be used for planting large trees. The report does not specify the precise height limit for the smaller trees that may be permitted, nor does it provide details of the approval process, enforcement mechanism or whether the restriction will apply to existing hoardings. Those operational details were not included in the supplied report.
The decision places roadside greenery and advertising visibility within the same municipal approval framework. The immediate concern raised in the report is that trees planted along major roads could later be trimmed to preserve sightlines to hoardings. The restriction is therefore aimed at preventing a recurring conflict between public landscaping and commercial advertising infrastructure, although the committee’s report also records questions about where trees can be planted if major roads already contain hoardings at regular intervals.
The Standing Committee also imposed a fine of ₹1 lakh on Hetanjara agency, identified as responsible for cleaning work at the riverfront, over debris and unclean conditions near Subhash Bridge. The municipal action came amid reports of garbage at several locations along the Sabarmati Riverfront.
In another decision, the corporation is to introduce an online facility for residents to pay the ₹200 charge for tree trimming at homes and housing societies. Residents will not have to visit a civic centre to make the payment, according to the report. The report does not state when the online facility will become operational.
The committee also directed the Estate Department to prepare a list of plots whose payments remain pending and initiate action to take them back. The direction followed the recovery of two plots allotted in Aganaj and Motera for sub-divisional offices in 2023, after ₹50 crore in plot payments were reportedly not made to the Uttar Gujarat Vij Company Limited.
The meeting further reviewed the cleaning of municipal water tanks. Of the corporation’s 243 water tanks, only 96 had been cleaned during the previous six months, according to the report. The committee instructed officials to ensure that the remaining tanks are cleaned on schedule. The supplied report did not provide a revised deadline or identify the specific tanks awaiting cleaning.
