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Parking to cost more at Chandigarh’s 57 lots by March end
Parking fee will double after every four hours; entry for pick and drop in the first 10 minutes will entail no fee
The municipal corporation has decided to roll out parking charges on hourly basis at 57 parking lots across the city by the end of March.
The parking fee for the first four hours – ₹5 for two-wheelers and ₹10 for four-wheelers – has not been changed. However, these will be doubled post four hours.
The charges will be further doubled if vehicles are kept parked beyond 12 hours. Entry for pick and drop in the first 10 minutes will entail no fee.
Parking lots in the city have been divided into two zones: 32 in Zone 1 and 57 in Zone 2. The civic body had auctioned both zones for around ₹10 crore annually.
Lots equipped with smart facilities
In October last year, MC had directed parking contractors to offer smart facilities at all 89 parking lots within one month. New parking charges were contingent on that. However, despite multiple deadlines, the contractors failed to fulfil the requirement.
“Now, the contractor of parking lots in Zone 2 has installed the smart features. A committee has inspected and substantiated this. The contractor will be authorised to charge on hourly basis after the final approval from the MC commissioner,” said SK Jain, additional commissioner, MC.
The smart features include e-payment, HD night-vision CCTV cameras at exit/entry points, and smart card-based daily and monthly passes, besides LED display of real-time occupancy at entry points and online booking of parking space through app.
“MC has floated the tender for the app’s development. While MC will award the contract, the parking contractor will pay for it,” said Jain.
The app will allow online booking of parking space and provide updates related to the lots. It is expected to be ready in a month’s time.
