From March end, Chandigarh municipal corporation (MC) will charge on hourly basis at the 57 parking lots in the city. Parking lots in the city have been divided into two zones: 32 in Zone 1 and 57 in Zone 2.
The 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. The
After inspecting all the parking spots, the committee constituted by MC gave its report to the department.
A year ago, the MC had increased the number of lots from 25 to 89 and had tendered them by dividing the city into two zones.
At that time, it was directed to the companies that the lots should be converted to smart parking lots. Till then, the old parking fee was being charged. However, despite multiple deadlines, the contractors failed to fulfil the requirement. Zone 1’s parking operator said that 90% of work has been done and the work will be completed by March end.
The MC had auctioned both the zones to contractors for over ₹10 crore annually. It is an important source of revenue for the civic body.
According to the tender, the operators had to increase the fee every year. A month ago, a company had started charging ₹6 from two-wheelers and ₹12 from four wheelers which had triggered uproar among the residents. After that, the MC said that the lots should first be made smart, only then the price should be increased.
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.
