Despite Chandigarh’s rollback order, MC sticks to double parking fee from outsiders in RFP

The civic body on Saturday conducted the pre-RFP meeting for selection of concessioner for providing smart parking management system on public private partnership (PP) mode in Chandigarh

Even after Punjab governor and UT administrator Banwarilal Purohit directed mayor Anup Gupta to roll back the decision to charge double parking fee from four-wheelers registered outside the tricity, the municipal corporation (MC) continued with the conditions in the request for proposal (RFP) of the project.

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The civic body on Saturday conducted the pre-RFP meeting for selection of concessioner for providing smart parking management system on public private partnership (PP) mode in Chandigarh. During the meeting, around 10 private firms participated.

“The RFP of the project has been made and we are in the early stages of tendering. The project includes all details that were approved by the general house of the MC, including that of charging double parking fee from the fuel-based four-wheelers registered outside the tricity. Though the UT administrator had directed to roll back the decision, the MC is going ahead with what the House approved. Also, the civic body got no formal or written decision on the same from the UT administration,” said an MC official privy to the development.

The civic body will float the tenders soon after Diwali on November 12, the officials said, adding that the firm will take around 6 months to change the city’s parking lots to smart parking after allotment of the contract to the firm.

During the House meeting on July 25, the MC had imposed a marginal fee hike for tricity cars, but decided to double the fee for cars registered outside the tricity. The MC had also decided to waive parking fee for all two-wheelers and electric four-wheelers (up to March 31, 2027). Currently, the civic body charges ₹7 for two-wheelers and ₹14 for four-wheelers, irrespective of the vehicles’ registration number.

But, during the administrator’s advisory council meeting on August 19, Purohit had said there can’t be disparity in the parking rates for tricity residents and those living outside. “Chandigarh should set an example of parity,” the governor had said, while directing the mayor and MC commissioner Anindita Mitra to charge equal parking fee across the board.

Though the mayor had claimed that the plan was aimed at decongesting the city’s parking lots and generating more revenue for the civic body, the policy had evoked strong opposition from political parties from Punjab and Haryana.

“The RFP will also be submitted to the UT administration and the UT local bodies department. Only after their approval the MC can float tenders for the allotment of the project. If the UT will again ask the MC to roll back the decision, the civic body will have to review the decision,” said an official.

The mayor and the commissioner were not available for comments on Sunday.

School grounds to be used for parking in major markets

Ahead of the festival, the Chandigarh Police allotted 38 school grounds that will be used as parking lots to ease traffic in the markets. The schools are located across the city, including in Sectors 22, 19, 34, 35, 41 and Manimajra.

With markets witnessing a rush of people these days, traffic congestion is being reported outside the parking lots. Since all 89 parking lots in the city are presently managed by the MC with limited workers, it is adding woes to the parking management.

Charanjiv Singh, president, Chandigarh Beopar Mandal (CBM), said, “We had requested the Chandigarh Police to provide alternative space as parking lots during the festive season. We have also requested various market welfare associations (MWAs) to ensure that shopkeepers park their vehicles in the rear side of their shops instead of front parking lots. MWAs can also depute their own volunteers to manage traffic in front of markets. Also, people are advised to park their vehicles in designated parking lots in schools and community centres. Shopkeepers are advised not to encroach upon the parking area as well as not to allow illegal vendors to be stationed in front of their shops.”

Box: Parking lots to be ‘smarter’

The plan to introduce a FASTag-enabled parking management system at all 89 parking lots in the city was conceived in August last year. But the project proposal has never been tabled in the MC General House. The introduction of FASTag would eliminate the need for physical payment of parking fee and manning of the entry points.

Among other features, also proposed are automatic number plate recognition cameras to prevent vehicle theft and revenue loss. A mobile app is also on the cards to provide information about available parking space, along with a facility to pre-book a parking spot.

At present, attendants issue parking slips and collect payments manually at all parking lots. The smart system has been proposed in the new parking contract.

High-resolution CCTV cameras installed at the parking lots will scan the registration plates to keep track of vehicles.