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Park on Sector 17 roads, berms in Chandigarh and pay up to Rs 3,500 fine
Facing flak over closure of Rs 50 crore multilevel parking project in Sector 17, the municipal corporation has decided to run the lot on its own from August 11 (Thursday), till the contract is allotted to any agency.
Facing flak over closure of Rs 50 crore multilevel parking project in Sector 17, the municipal corporation has decided to run the lot on its own from August 11 (Thursday), till the contract is allotted to any agency.
With the lot adding over 900 cars to the parking capacity in Sector 17, the enforcement wing of the MC will challan wrongly parked vehicles in Sector 17 and tow these to its store in the Industrial Area. Such vehicles will be released only on a fine of Rs 1,000 for two-wheelers and Rs 3,500 for four-wheelers. The MC has hired two cranes for towing.
THE WRONG WAY TO PARK
This will mean vehicles outside the parking lots or on road berms. Four sub-inspectors of the enforcement wing will supervise the operation. The MC has also written to the SSP (traffic) and the State Transport Authority (STA) of Chandigarh to discourage people from parking on roads in Sector 17.
“Any vehicle found parked outside the parking lots or on berms will be challaned. We have decided to run the lot and 30 employees from the engineering department and the parking branch will be put on the job,” mayor Arun Sood said. The Congress, however, has said that the MC does not have powers to issue challans to this extent.
“Under MC rules, it can issue challans only up to Rs 500. The mayor cannot start levying challans without a nod from the finance and contract committee. This is undemocratic and will happen for the first time in Chandigarh,” former Congress mayor Pardeep Chhabra said.
MULTI-LEVEL PARKING REMAINS THE CHEAPEST
CHANDIGARH: The multilevel parking lot comes out to be the cheapest in its category in the city. Here, the charges for a four-wheeler are Rs 5 for the first four hours and Rs 10 for up to 5 hours.
After this, Rs 5 are charged for every hour, which means for 13 hours, Rs 50 will be charged. For two-wheelers, Rs 2 will be charged for first four hours and Rs 20 for 13 hours. On the other hand, multilevel parking at Elante Mall charges Rs 20 for one hour, for four hours Rs 30 and for 8 hours Rs 40.
Similarly, at the North Country Mall in Kharar, the charges are Rs 30 for full day and during weekends, the charges are Rs 40. Sood claimed that the multi-level parking had first been approved by the Congress.
“The Congress never allowed any discussion and is now accusing us needlessly,” Sood said, confirming that no-parking boards would also be installed at several places in Sector 17 to ensure people are not caught unawares.
However, the Congress remains combative.
Former mayor Pardeep Chhabra said, “The project was approved as it was a long-pending demand of residents and traders. However, it was the mayor’s duty to frame policy on using the completed project. He is only interested in inaugurations for political mileage.”
