Cash-strapped MC proposes 30-40% hike in parking fee

Facing a severe financial crisis, the Municipal Corporation is planning to increase the parking fee from 30 to 40 per cent at 87 parking lots under its jurisdiction. The agenda for increasing the parking fee will be placed before the next General House meeting of the MC scheduled for April 30.

In the agenda, the MC has proposed that preparations for issuing a fresh request for proposal (RFP) for the smart parking system is under consideration. As such, the proposed revision in the parking rates needs to be approved by the General House so that these could be included in the fresh RFP documents.

The MC has proposed to increase the parking fee for two-wheelers from Rs 7 to Rs 10 (for duration from 15 minutes to 4 hours), from Rs 10 to Rs 16 (from 4 to 8 hours) and additional Rs 5 per hour after 8 hours.

The parking rates for Elante Mall, Fun Republic in Mani Majra and Piccadilly MultiPlex have been proposed as Rs 35 (for up to 4 hours), Rs 50 (for 4 to 8 hours) and additional Rs 5 for every hour.

Similarly, the parking rates for four-wheelers have been proposed to increase from Rs 14 to 20 (from 15 minutes to 4 hours), Rs 25 (from 4 to 8 hours) and Rs 10 for additional per hour.

The rates for the parking lots at Elante Mall , Fun Republic in Mani Majra and Piccadilly MultiPlex have been proposed as Rs 85 (for up to 4 hours ), Rs 155 (for 4 to 8 hours), and additional Rs 20 for every hour.

No fee will be charged for 15 minutes for two as well as four-wheelers. An MC official said the rates of 87 parking lots under the MC jurisdiction had not been increased for a long time. The last hike was made in 2022 when the MC increased the rates for four-wheelers from Rs 12 to Rs 14 and for two-wheelers from Rs 6 to Rs 7. The parking fee is a major source of revenue for any municipal corporation, he said.

Meanwhile, the MC has also proposed to introduce a mechanism for capturing the parking time data of vehicles. The Society for Promotion of IT in Chandigarh (SPIC) may be requested to provide a software solution integrated with POS machines for the collection of accurate data on vehicle parking duration in each paid parking lot.

Chandigarh