Hourly parking fee in phased manner soon in Chandigarh

Sandeep Rana

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, December 29

Hourly fee at 89 paid parking lots in the city will be introduced in a phased manner from January onwards as smart features have not been implemented in all facilities.

At parking spaces where such features have been introduced, the MC would allow contractors to start charging in a phased manner, said a senior official of the parking wing of the civic body.

Parking wing officials said they would conduct an inspection at all parking lots in a week's time to check the ground reality.

A senior MC official said one of the parking lot firms had claimed that he had implemented smart features. Thus, he would be able to introduce hourly parking charges in a phased manner in different parking lots.

Earlier, November 30 was the deadline regarding the same. It was approved in the MC House meeting that hourly parking charges will be introduced from December 1 if the company is able to make its parking lots smart.

However, it could not be implemented. Since smart features are yet to be provided at various parking lots in the city, the MC is now going ahead with the hourly fee in a phased manner.

RK Garg, president, Second Innings Association, a senior citizens' body, said, "The MC should make its contracts public. Why are they doing it even in a phased manner when the firms failed to make all lots smart? The corporation has grossly failed in ensuring civic services."

Vikas Pandey, parking contractor of zone 2, said, "We are yet to get a direction in this regard from the MC. Perhaps, a meeting will be held on Thursday." Lack of parking attendants to manage vehicles, no boom barriers, haphazard parking and no proper display about the 10-minute free parking facility are some of the issues which have not been resolved yet in several parking lots.

The parking contract of 89 lots was awarded to two agencies in January this year. At present, parking rates for two and four-wheelers are Rs5 and Rs10, respectively. It was agreed that after the parking lots are made smart in May, the rates would be doubled after the first four hours. In the third slab, after 12 hours, the parking fee would be doubled again till 24 hours. There would be no charges for the first 10 minutes.

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