Contractors not using e-ticketing machines

Rajinder Nagarkoti

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, January 30

As per municipal corporation (MC) norms, installation of e-ticketing machine for issuing parking slips is mandatory in paid parking lots across the city, but not even a single contractor is following the norm.

The MC team in its inspection conducted yesterday in 14 parking lots found that not even a single contractor had installed an e-ticketing machine.

The Chandigarh Tribune team visited a number of parking lots today and found that the contractors were issuing slips manually.

An MC official said that in the garb of manual slips, the contractors willingly overcharge the commuters. On the ticketing machine slip, a commuter can see the parking charges—Rs 2 for a two-wheeler and Rs 5 for a four-wheeler, whereas in the slip issued manually, the contractors “hide the charges”. The e-ticketing slips can be used as evidence against the contractor, if he overcharges, whereas the manual ticket is of no use and the contractors blatantly violate norms, he said.

According to the minutes of the 217th meeting of the MC Finance and Contract Committee (F&CC) of the MC on May 3, 2012, it reads, “The parking slips shall be issued at the entry point by the licencee. The parking fee will be paid at the entry point. The parking slips will be collected by the licencee at the exit gate. The licencee shall use an electronic ticketing machine for the issuing of parking slips.

In case of default penalty, Rs 500 shall be imposed on each occasion”.

Sources also revealed that when the MC allots contract to the parking contractors, the MC checks the e-ticketing machine and CCTV cameras of all the parking contractors but thereafter the MC officials hardly check it.

On the other side requesting anonymity, a parking contractor, said good quality e-ticketing machine was expensive. Besides, attendants were not educated and trained to handle the e-ticketing machines. Moreover, issuing slips manually was easy as compared to e-ticketing machines therefore they preferred issuing slips manually, he said.

Meanwhile, sources said that MC Additional Commissioner Dr Sarita Malika had also issued instructions to the MC enforcement wing to conduct regular inspections of parking lots across the city.

Box: e-ticketing machines are borrowed

Sources said during initial days of allotting the contract, parking lot contractors arrange for e-ticketing machine from outside and thereafter they shift to manual ticketing practice.