Mysore/Mysuru: With the Assembly elections barely a month away, sitting and aspiring MLAs are all set to put up illegal flex boards and banners on almost all roads and footpaths in the city. Many times, these banners are so big that they endanger the lives of vehicle users and pedestrians.

As a pre-emptive measure, the Mysuru City Corporation (MCC) has issued an order prohibiting display of hoardings, banners, buntings, flex, and wall writings on elections by political parties, ticket aspirants and other issues within its limits with immediate effect.

The order was issued yesterday by MCC Commissioner G. Lakshmikantha Reddy and has warned to prosecute firms and individuals who put up these flexes by invoking the Karnataka Open Places (Prevention of Disfigurement) Act, 1981 and the Section 135 of Karnataka Municipalities Act, 1976.

The law provides for up to six months’ imprisonment or a fine of Rs. 1,000 on agencies or people who put up banners illegally. Under the provision of law, unauthorised installation of hoardings, banners, posters and other publicity materials related to the ensuing elections and other matters stands banned.

Election publicity materials cannot be pasted on the walls or compound walls in the MCC limits. Political parties must take valid permission from the MCC before putting up publicity materials at designated places identified by the MCC for the purpose. Other than these places, political parties are prohibited from using election publicity materials.

Permission is also mandatory for political party meetings and for putting up tents and sound systems at the meetings. The MCC Commissioner’s order said that Government buildings and premises cannot be used for displaying publicity material of political parties.

“We will remove the publicity material on Government premises without discrimination. The MCC will not, however, intervene with regard to publicity material on private buildings as it was left to the owner of the private building and the political parties concerned. But it is mandatory for them to take valid permission to display on their premises,” the order said.

In case of any violation, steps will be taken against persons responsible for putting up unauthorised flex banners, it stated.