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Pune Municipal Corporation’s pay and park policy, approved in 2018, yet to see light of day
Mayor, Mukta Tilak says she has received the list and will finalise roads
The pay and pay policy approved by the general body of the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) in early 2018 is yet to see the light of the day.
PMC had prepared a list of at least 37 roads including FC road, JM road, Gokhale road, Dhole Patil road, Koregaon park road, MG road, among others, where it was planning to implement the pay and park policy. The project was decided to be implemented on a pilot basis on five roads in the city. However, the decision on selecting the five roads is yet to be taken by the elected representatives, according to officials.
A senior official from the project department on the condition of anonymity, said, “We had prepared a list of about 37 roads based on various categories like commercial, residential, rural and urban and we had asked the mayor to approve at least five roads where the on-street pay and park could be implemented.”
“Due to the elections, the decision could not be taken and now it has been over 15 days since the results for the state assembly elections have been declared, but there has been no word from the mayor,” said the official.
Mukta Tilak, city mayor, said, “The mayor committee has not yet been formed and after the elections, political party leaders have not been able to meet. I have got the list and we are to finalise the five roads, but no decision has been taken yet.”
Vijay Kumbhar, right to information (RTI) activist, said, “Proposals related to pay and park have been recommended multiple times and they have been halted also multiple times because no political party wants to implement it. The issue of parking can be resolved by increasing public transport and discouraging private vehicle use.”
Rubal Agarwal, additional commissioner, said, “We want to implement the pay and park on five roads on a pilot basis to see the response we get. This is also a way for the civic body to earn some revenue and discourage private vehicle use and encourage the use of public transport in the city.”
As per the new parking policy, residents will need to pay the parking fee for two-wheelers, as well as night charges. The minimum parking fee for two-wheelers is Rs 2 per hour and maximum Rs 4 per hour and minimum parking fee for four-wheelers is Rs10 per hour and the maximum is Rs 20 per hour. This met with resistance from politicians since the 2019 Lok Sabha and state elections were scheduled for this year. With the civic elections scheduled in 2021, many activists have expressed apprehension that civic body will not implement the policy even now.
Initially, the mayor had said two streets - Ghole road and Shaniwarwada to Shaniwar peth - have almost been finalised though three roads are yet to be identified for the pilot project.
“Initially, people might resist to pay and park, but eventually they will get used to it. Also, the administration must ensure that this is not just a money minting mechanism, but a way to organise parking,” said Kumbhar.
