IOAA calls for uniform enforcement & clearer rules; willing to work with BMC

The Indian Outdoor Advertising Association (IOAA) has backed Mumbai Mayor Ritu Tawde’s ‘Flex-Free Mumbai’ initiative, but says the success of the campaign will ultimately depend on how consistently the rules are implemented across commercial, political and social advertising.

While welcoming the push for a cleaner and safer city, the industry body believes Mumbai needs to move beyond periodic removal drives towards a more permanent, technology-led enforcement mechanism—with clearer rules on what is authorised, stronger verification and a uniform framework across different land-owning authorities.

“A cleaner, safer and uncluttered skyline for Mumbai is something citizens, brands and our industry will all want,” the IOAA Chairman Shekhar Narayanaswami tells e4m, a day after the Mayor's announcement of the special drive. 

Narayanaswami adds, “What is encouraging is the focus on year-round enforcement. Periodic drives clear things up for a while, but it’s sustained systems that actually change outcomes.”

IOAA’s support comes even as the industry flags the practical challenges of implementing some of the proposed measures, including replacing PVC flex with eco-friendly fabric prints.

Also Read: Mayor’s ‘Flex-Free Mumbai’ Push: Illegal ads put OOH’s credibility under scrutiny again

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From periodic drives to a permanent system

According to IOAA, the bigger opportunity lies in creating a system where authorised and unauthorised advertising can be identified and acted upon before illegal inventory proliferates.

The association has proposed a digital single-window system for permissions, ideally accompanied by a public map showing every permitted outdoor advertising site along with its latitude and longitude. QR codes on authorised displays could then allow enforcement teams—and potentially citizens—to verify whether a particular advertisement has the required permission.

The industry also wants clear and consistent criteria for penalties and blacklisting, along with regular structural safety audits for permanent outdoor assets. “Put together, these would shift the effort from spending on removal to preventing violations in the first place,” the IOAA chairman says.

This distinction is important for organised OOH companies that have invested in licensed, permanent and digital assets. According to the association, much of the clutter removed during civic drives comprises temporary flexes, posters and stickers, often used for political, religious and promotional messaging.

“Unauthorised displays compete for the same attention without paying licence fees or meeting safety norms,” he says. “As that clutter comes down, compliant assets become more visible and more valuable to advertisers.”

In other words, IOAA sees a potential commercial upside to stricter enforcement: reducing unauthorised inventory could improve the visibility and value of legitimate OOH assets.

The association, however, stresses that enforcement must not disrupt legal inventory in the process.

“Clearly defined norms for what is legal and authorised versus what is illegal and unauthorised will be important,” the chairman says, adding that legally tendered media should continue to operate without disruption as enforcement scales up.

Uniform rules, phased transition

One of the biggest implementation challenges, according to IOAA, is the fragmented nature of Mumbai’s outdoor advertising ecosystem.

“Outdoor sites sit across several land-owning authorities, each having its own rules and regulations,” the Chairman says. “A uniform policy that applies across the city, regardless of who owns the land, will help fix a large part of the problem.”

The association also believes the shift away from PVC flex needs to be calibrated. While supporting the move towards more environmentally friendly materials, IOAA points out that fabric printing can carry significantly higher costs for media owners, which could ultimately be passed on to advertisers.

“Reducing PVC flex is a thoughtful, forward-looking touch. But replacing it with eco-friendly fabric prints comes with significant additional costs,” the chairman says. He suggests a phased implementation rather than an overnight blanket ban, while noting that wider adoption could eventually bring costs down.

For the OOH industry, the broader concern is ensuring that environmental and regulatory objectives do not inadvertently create additional uncertainty for compliant operators.

Industry wants a seat at the enforcement table

IOAA is also seeking a more structured engagement with the BMC, saying the industry can bring practical knowledge of outdoor inventory and help identify unauthorised sites.

The association says it had shared suggestions when the Outdoor Advertising Policy was being formulated and now wants to revisit those recommendations through a formal mechanism such as a joint working group or regular consultations.

“We can bring ground-level knowledge, give the media owner perspective, help identify unauthorised inventory and suggest practical ideas on simplifying permissions,” the chairman says.

IOAA also believes advertisers and agencies have a role to play by choosing only verified and permitted sites. That could potentially shift the responsibility for compliance beyond media owners and civic authorities, creating greater pressure across the OOH buying ecosystem for transparency around inventory.

The association's position ultimately comes down to a move from enforcement as an episodic clean-up exercise to enforcement as an operating system—one built around digital permissions, verifiable inventory, predictable penalties and coordination between agencies.

“With good coordination between agencies and consistent application, Mumbai has a real chance to set a benchmark for other cities,” the chairman says.

For an industry seeking greater formalisation, that may be as important as the “Flex-Free Mumbai” campaign itself. The success of the initiative will not simply be measured by how many illegal flexes are removed, but by whether the city can create a framework in which unauthorized inventory becomes harder to put up in the first place—and legitimate OOH assets can operate with greater certainty.