New Delhi, Oct 31: The Delhi High Court has sought full details from city government on steps taken for removal of illegal hoardings from the National Capital Territory (NCT) for which CBI has registered a case after an MLA had accused the government of involvement in a Rs 100 crore scam. "We are told that CBI has registered a case on February 4, 2002 regarding the so-called Rs 100 advertising scandal involving Delhi government.... We expect an affidavit from the public works department in regard to the entire affair," a bench comprising Justice Anil Dev Singh and Justice R S Sodhi in an order said. The court said that petitioner MLA Jagdish Anand has "inter alia" claimed that the NCT government had entered into an agreement on Jaunuary 4, 1999 with a private company -- Green Line Advertising (GLA) -- awarding it a contract to put up advertisements on tree-guards, kiosks, electric poles and railings erected on the central verges of roads free of cost with the obligation to maintain green belts. Petitioner's counsel Ashok Kumar Singh said, "This was nothing but illegal utilisation of spaces on tree guards, iron grills, electric poles and government kiosks in violation of the Centre's 1996 notification and the Supreme Court order prohibiting erection, expansion, fixation and display of commercial advertisements on public places."
Bureau Report