Megapoilis and Western Province Development Minister Champika Ranawaka on a mission to transform Colombo and suburbs into clean environs, has ordered municipal commissioners, public health heads and the police to file charges against individuals and companies that put up posters and banners in the city ignoring respective municipal authority’s requirements.
Minister Ranawaka said legal action will be taken against those putting up posters illegally in public places or public property in keeping with the ongoing waste management drive.
“We will also institute legal action against the owners of those posters and banners for the obvious reasons of ensuring safety and cleanliness of the city,” he said.
“We are left with no choice, but to get tough with illegal posters, because there is a trend in Colombo and suburbs to ignore legal requirements regarding the installation of posters and banners,” he explained.
Police Environmental Units, Head of environmental institutions, Municipal Commissioners and Secretaries have been called by the minister not to tolerate defiance and carelessness on the part of individuals who have chosen to ignore poster, flyer and banner rules during a waste management review meeting held at the Colombo Municipal Council, yesterday.
Ranawaka said a two-week awareness period is now in effect to get everybody’s act together, to be able to get acquainted with what lies ahead if they disregard regulations pertaining to putting up cut-outs, banners and posters.
“Next, we will prosecute them for illegally pasting posters and banners within and near the city,” he said.