Mohali MC inks ₹200-cr ad deal with Delhi firm
Earlier, the Mohali MC failed to allot ₹31-crore advertisement tender five times in a row, but later it had allotted five work tenders worth around ₹28 crore for advertising at 287 sites across the city which includes billboards, gantry, unipoles and toilet blocks
After struggling for years to even pay timely salaries to the staff, the Mohali Municipal Corporation (MC) on Friday signed a ₹200-crore advertisement sites deal with a Delhi-based company for seven years.
The deal is likely to give a major boost to the city’s infrastructure and smooth functioning of the civic body.
Earlier, the MC failed to allot ₹31-crore advertisement tender five times in a row, but later it had allotted five work tenders worth around ₹28 crore for advertising at 287 sites across the city which includes billboards, gantry, unipoles and toilet blocks.
The civic body sealed the whooping deal with Delhi-based Fortbell Company.
“If the work of the said company will be satisfactory, its contract will be extended up to two more years i.e. till 2034. Moreover, the company will also pay around ₹5 crore GST annually to the government,” a senior MC officer said.
After failing for years, a joint effort by MC commissioner T Benith, joint commissioner Deepankar Garg and ACA Ranjiv Kumar secured a major deal for the MC.
The civic body which till date was earning around ₹8 crore annually through advertisement will now have an annual income of ₹28 crore through these auctioned sites.
With this, the MC will now spend on sewerage maintenance, village road maintenance and green belts.
However, the MC had sent the sixth advertisement tender for advertisement at 33 bus queue shelters, to the local bodies department for consideration following a technical glitch during the tender process.
If the said tender with base price of ₹1 crore for advertisement at 33 bus queue shelters will be allotted successfully, it will further boost MC’s revenue.
Initially, there were 339 sites, but 19 were removed by the civic body due to ongoing road widening by the Greater Mohali Area Development Authority (GMADA) in Phases 8 to 11.
Once these sites are auctioned by the civic body, the MC will generate better revenue.
In 2015, the MC had allotted over 10 separate advertisement tenders for a total of 186 sites at ₹9.24 crore. In 2018, 10% rates were increased, and ₹9.72 crore tender was allotted.
Amid the pandemic, contractors had surrendered the sites citing hefty losses. Later in 2023, 153 new sites were added with the total number being raised to 339. The civic body, however, had also increased the rates of the previous 186 sites by 24% and came up with a proposal of ₹31 crore for a total of 339 sites. The tender, however, remained unsuccessful five times.
Earlier, after four failed attempts to draw bidders for the ₹31-crore advertisement tender in financial year 2023-24, the MC in its fifth attempt had divided the city into four zones with separate smaller tenders, with hopes of finding contractors in the 2024-25 fiscal but to no avail. The MC eventually floated six separate tenders.
MC councillors had accused the officials of corruption and not initiating a vigilance probe into the matter deliberately despite passing the resolution.
“We divided the MC area into different zones and floated separate tenders to increase competition and to realise maximum revenue for the government. We invited outdoor advertising agencies throughout the country to participate in the tender by publishing the tender notices on print and digital media,” T Benith said.