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MC General House meet: Parking fee hiked, cars registered outside tricity to pay double the rate
At present, the civic body charges ₹7 for two-wheelers and ₹14 for four-wheelers, irrespective of the registration numbers and state
While owners of two-wheelers and electric vehicles have a reason to rejoice as the Chandigarh municipal corporation has waived off parking fee for them, four-wheeler owners, especially those owning outstation registration numbers, are in for some bad news. The parking rates for four-wheelers with tricity-based registration numbers have been hiked marginally, while those owning outstation numbers will pay double the amount (see box).
This is for the first time that Chandigarh will charge double the rates for outstation vehicles.
The decisions were taken in General House meeting held on Tuesday. At present, the civic body charges ₹7 for two-wheelers and ₹14 for four-wheelers, irrespective of the registration numbers and state. But as per the approved project, parking for non-commercial and non-electric four-wheelers registered within tricity (Chandigarh, Mohali and Panchkula) as well as commercial three-wheelers in MC’s paid parking lots will be free for the first 15 minutes. But a ₹15 fee, up from current ₹14, will be levied for vehicles parked for 16 minutes to four hours. If the vehicle remains parked for four to eight hours, ₹20 will be charged but beyond that time, an additional charge of ₹10 per hour will be imposed.
In the parking lots near Elante Mall and Fun Republic, car owners of tricity will have to pay as much as ₹ 70 for the first four hours whereas the charges will increase to ₹130 for four to eight hours. An additional ₹20/hr will be charged if the car is parked for over eight hours.
In parking lots near Piccadly mall, ₹50 will be charged till four hours, ₹70 from four hours to eight hours and ₹20 every hour after eight hours. However, all these charges will be doubled for cars registered outside tricity, with parking being most expensive near Elante mall ( ₹140 for just four hours).
Also, as per the proposal, all types of two-wheelers, including electric vehicles, will be exempted from parking fee. Electric four-wheelers will also be exempted up to March 31, 2027, and thereafter prevailing fees will be applicable.
An additional ₹5 will be levied if payment is made through cash in case of non-commercial vehicles and ₹10 in case of commercial vehicles. MC has also proposed an increase of ₹10 in every slab after every three financial years for all categories of vehicles, except for monthly purposes.
The new charges will be levied only after the UT administration approves the project and once MC hires a private firm to convert all the 89 parking lots to smart parking lots.
More relief for locals on monthly passes: Mayor
City mayor Anup Gupta said, “For the locals, buying a monthly pass will be cheaper as compared to charges that will be levied daily. For non-commercial four wheelers, ₹300 will be charged for monthly pass for single or multiple entries in a day upto 12 hours (for single specific parking). For commercial four-wheelers, the monthly pass will cost ₹800.”
No to setting up charging stations for EVs at MC parking lots
The Chandigarh Renewable Energy and Science and Technology Promotion Society (CREST) of the UT administration had requested the MC to allow installation of electric vehicle (EV) charging stations and battery swapping stations at 44 parking lots in the city but the House rejected the agenda on Tuesday.
The councillors said that instead of 50% revenue, CREST should have offered 100% revenue to MC as it is their space and revenue loss will be faced if the space allotted for parking will be used for setting charging stations.
“Also, UT had not sought recommendations from the House before drafting EV policy,” the councillors said while rejecting the agenda.
Nod for smart parking
The House also approved the smart-parking project, as part of which FASTag-enabled parking management system will be introduced at the 89 parking lots in the city. This will make the parking process smoother by eliminating the need for physical payment of parking fee and manning of entry points. At present, attendants issue parking slips and collect payments manually at all parking lots. Among other features 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. Under the new system, boom barriers will open automatically when a vehicle approaches the entry point. At the time of exit, fee, based on parking duration, will be deducted through FASTag.
