Chandigarh, July 28: In what could be a major respite for residents, the Federation of Sectors Welfare Association of Chandigarh (FOSWAC) today proposed to MC Commissioner KK Yadav that leaving vehicles at paid parking lots in the city should be free for the first 15 minutes.
At present, there are 25 paid parking lots in the city. Nearly 30 more are proposed to be made paid parking lots. Currently, Rs 5 and Rs 10 are charged for two and four-wheelers, respectively. However, the charges are proposed to be doubled and will further double after four hours of parking.
“It will be a blow to the common man. One has to visit local markets several times in a day to buy small household items like milk or grocery. One cannot pay every time one enters the market. We have proposed to the Commissioner to make parking free for the first 15 minutes,” said Baljinder Singh Bittu, chairman, FOSWAC. Bittu said the MC Commissioner had assured them of doing the needful.
“People are being burdened with additional taxes, but the facilities are not improving. Earlier, in the name of smart parking, the charges were doubled, while no major change was witnessed in the system. At present, the lots being run by the MC at half the rate and it is doing the same job,” said the FOSWAC chairman.
The new paid parking lots have been identified in Sector 7, 19, 22, 23, 24, 36 and on Madhya Marg. The matter is yet to come to the MC House for discussion.
The federation also suggested to charge Rs 200 and Rs 100 per car and scooter, respectively, per month at all registered parking lots in the city. The management of parking lots should be handed over to willing RWAs and trade associations by sharing 10 per cent of the total collections.
“However, vehicles coming from outside may be charged the existing rates on a daily basis. By doing so, the parking lots shall not only be managed better, but the MC will earn over Rs 50 crore a year,” said a member of the federation.
