AMC Officials Under Fire For Alleged Favours To Ad Agencies: Hoarding Licence Fees Frozen For 3 Years Trigger Controvery

A proposal by the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) Estate Department has sparked widespread debate over alleged official favouritism towards private advertising agencies. Despite unlocking Rs 6.18 crore in revenue against a base price of Rs 3.41 crore in its latest hoarding site auctions, the civic body’s decision to keep licence fees completely flat for three consecutive years has raised serious questions over fiscal governance and revenue loss.

Critics and civic observers are questioning why the AMC routinely mandates annual rent hikes of 5 to 10 per cent for parking lots, public-private partnership (PPP) swimming pools, and gymnasiums, while granting ad agencies an immunity from yearly fee escalations.

Flat Fee Structure Raises Allegations Of Favouritism

Under standard AMC practices, leases for civic properties—such as parking spaces, sports complexes, and public facilities—include mandatory annual fee hikes of 5 to 10 per cent. This structure ensures that municipal revenues automatically adjust for inflation and rising property values over multi-year contract periods.

However, the Estate Department's proposal submitted to the AMC Standing Committee keeps the licence fee uniform across all three years of the contract term for hoarding sites. Advertising firms generate substantial revenue utilizing publicly owned spaces, including footpaths, reserved plots, and open ground at muster stations. The deliberate exclusion of an annual escalation clause has led to sharp criticism over why municipal officers appear overly lenient towards ad agencies at the cost of the civic body's treasury.

Tender Outcomes: 20 Sites See Zero Bids

The controversy unfolds against the backdrop of the AMC’s recent auction drive for around 78 hoarding sites across various zones, following the expiry of previous three-year contracts:

• Competitive Bids: Around 45 sites attracted multiple competitive bidders.
• Single Bid Approval: Nine sites received single tenders; however, because the bids surpassed the AMC’s reserve prices, officials decided to accept them despite the single-bid status.
• Rejected Bids: Bids for two sites were turned down after falling below the base valuation.
• Re-tendering Scheduled: Around 20 sites received no bids at all and will now go through a fresh tendering process.
• Site Excluded: One site in the East Zone was removed from the tender list entirely due to an upcoming road-widening project.

History Of Outstanding Licence Fee Defaulters

The decision to freeze licence fees comes amidst long-standing concerns regarding fee collection enforcement from advertising operators. Several hoarding contractors have a track record of delaying or dodging licence fee payments to the municipal corporation.

Despite explicit Gujarat High Court directions commanding the recovery of pending dues, allegations persist that the civic body has struggled to recover outstanding licence fees from defaulting contractors. With previous dues remaining unrecovered, the administration’s decision to lock in three-year static rates for commercial ad space has brought municipal revenue policies under intense scrutiny.