Chandigarh: Now, Manimajra ground available for commercial bookings

In absence of a finalised policy guidelines, bookings of commercial grounds are processed on a first come, first serve basis; the finance and contract committee says policy guidelines and terms and conditions for the booking of commercial grounds are being finalised by a panel

The finance and contract committee (F&CC) of the Chandigarh Municipal Corporation (MC) on Monday approved the booking of housing board (Dussehra) ground in Manimajra for organising commercial events on first come, first serve basis.

Mayor Harpreet Kaur Babla has called an all-councillor meeting on Tuesday to run past a parking project’s revised blueprint before tabling t in the General House on June 27.

The meeting, held under the chairpersonship of city mayor Harpreet Kaur Babla, was attended by municipal commissioner Amit Kumar and committee’s other members — councillors Saurabh Joshi, Jasmanpreet Singh, Suman Devi and senior MC officials.

As per prevailing practice, in absence of a finalised policy guidelines, bookings of commercial grounds are processed on a first come, first serve basis. The committee also noted that the policy guidelines and terms and conditions for the booking of commercial grounds, such as Manimajra’s Dussehra ground and the Circus Ground in Sector-17, are under finalisation by a committee of councillors.

Discussion on smart parking project today

Nearly three months after the Chandigarh MC House scrapped the smart parking project, mayor Harpreet Kaur Babla has called an all-councillor meeting on Tuesday to run past the project’s revised blueprint before tabling it in the General House on June 27.

The mayor said the parking committee, headed by councillor Saurabh Joshi, had already finalised the terms and conditions of the project, and included it in the request for proposal (RFP). “Before we take it to the House, we want all councillors to give their feedback and suggestions so that it can be added in the final draft,” she added.

Officials said the revamped project would have a vehicle-stay tracking system, pink parking zones for women, internet connectivity for real-time parking management, option of advanced booking of parking slots and pre-paid parking cards. The software support for these systems is proposed to come from the Society for Promotion of IT in Chandigarh (SPIC). Additionally, there have been deliberations on data protection protocols, revenue-sharing models, inclusion of GST and stamp duties, and a new fee structure.