The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) framed the rules following directions from the Bombay High Court which was hearing a petition against the civic corporation. The petition was filed by S P Kothari who claimed that the civic corporation had awarded the lease on hoardings to one D S Mittal though both had bid the same amount.

The leasing out of hoardings had also generated heated debate two weeks ago when the issue was taken up for debate by the Public Accounts Committee (PAC). The panel members had charged that advertising agencies were misusing the hoarding space resulting in losses to the tune of lakhs of rupees to the BMC. The guidelines, however, will not apply for hoardings which have already been let out.

However, the Mayor evaded questions on the issue claiming that the PAC did not have the power to debate on the issue sincethe related files had not been cleared by the municipal auditor. He agreed to find out if any specific complaints were made in this regard.

Meanwhile, the MiC today also agreed to invest Rs 40 crore in four banks - Global Trust Bank, ICICI Bank and Times Bank - at an interest rate of 10.5 per cent and Indusind Bank at the rate of 11 per cent. The money has been invested for 205 days.