The city may breathe easier ~ and look prettier ~ if the Kolkata Municipal Corporation's decision to remove billboards from in front of parks and water-bodies comes into effect. The decision has been taken to keep the city's greenery free from "visual pollution". The civic body's advertisement department will not renew leases or allot new slots for billboards in front of parks or water-bodies. Civic authorities had earlier sought to remove billboards from in front of parks and water-bodies before the expiry of the lease period, but problems arose when the KMC could not provide space to relocate them. Why the civic body granted licences for billboards to be erected on these spots in the first place is, of course, open to question. "Leases for 100-odd billboards that come to an end in August will not be renewed automatically. About 30 per cent of these billboards set up by various advertising agencies block views to parks, public squares and water-bodies," an official said. These spots will be kept billboard-free. At present, over 320 billboards have been erected in various areas of the city with the permission of the KMC which counts the monies accruing from the lease as easy revenue. Officials said advertisement inspectors are currently surveying the status of all billboards in the city and will present their report shortly. Based on the report, future tenders for billboards will be issued. Earlier, the KMC had stopped issuing permits to set up a billboard on or near heritage sites. Moreover, the civic body has also stopped issuing permits to erect billboards on city roads. Member, mayor-in-council (parks and squares), Mr Faiyaz Ahmed Khan said: "A decision to keep parks, squares and water-bodies free from encroachments has been taken and all billboards that cause visual pollution will be removed."