LAHORE, Oct 13: An auction of key billboard sites by the Parks and Horticulture Authority ended in chaos on Monday after just one of the proposed 13 “B class” sites were sold, prompting the PHA to accuse advertisers of deliberate sabotage.

Advertisers denied the claims, stating the PHA had broken the standard rules of the auction by offering starting bids for a year’s rental at up to three times the value of the previous year.

Adyan Sadiq Lone, Chief Executive of Blaze Advertising, told Dawn: “The PHA went back on their word and appear to have an alternate agenda.”

He said the 31 advertisers present at the auction had objected to unreasonably high opening bids. He added that the bidding for an advertising site at Liberty Market opened at Rs3 million, whereas it had been sold for Rs1.3 million last year, and that another site which had been sold for Rs2.5 million last year had its bid opened at Rs5 million.

PHA spokesman Javed Shaida stated that despite the advertisers’ boycott, the PHA would press on with its auctioning policy with further bids on Oct 15 for seven boards and 11 more boards on Oct 17 along Ferozepur Road. He said the directions came from Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif and were being carried out by a CM Taskforce headed by Mustafa Kamal and PHA director-general Iftikhar Ahmed Rao.

He said this year the total funds accrued from billboard auctioning amounted to Rs254 million as opposed to Rs41 million last year. The single billboard that was sold on Monday fetched Rs6.7million, a 29-fold increase on last year’s value of Rs230,400.

The PHA’s policy with regard to billboards this year has been to drastically cut their number and re-auction the existing sites, in order to lessen the “clutter” and increase the income they can derive through what they call a fair and open bidding process.

Advertisers associations have over the past two months held protest demonstrations at the mass removal of billboards around the city. Senior Punjab Outdoor Advertising Association leader Atiq Ahmed claimed the removal of boards would lead to the loss of 1,500 jobs, millions of rupees and advertisers’ credibility in the eyes of clients. Over the weekend, the PHA began the process of removing boards causing at times severe traffic disruption at Barkat Market and Liberty Market.

GRANT: Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif authorised a Rs100 million grant on Monday for the development of parks and horticulture in ‘underdeveloped’ areas of the city, including Shadbagh, Gujjarpura, Wasanpura, Green Town, Tajpura, Shahdara, and Gulshan-i-Ravi.

The work is to include an upgrade of park facilities, including rides and foundations, according to PHA spokesman Javed Shaida. The areas in question have fallen behind more affluent localities in recent times and the grant is part of an effort to redress the balance, said Shaida. The PHA is yet to release, however, its detailed Annual Development Plan (ADP) which will outline its strategies for the year ahead.