Despite reduction in reserve price by 20%, no takers for MC parking lots

Charanjit Singh Teja

Amritsar, July 2

Despite reducing the reserve price of a parking lot by 20 per cent, the Amritsar Municipal Corporation (MC) didn’t find any taker.

Six of the parking lots of the MC didn’t get any bidder this time. For the last several months, a few parking stands of the MC are being operated by the MC staff in the absence of contractor.

No contractor filed e-bid for the parking lots at Pandit Deendayal Upadhyay Shopping Complex, Bhandari Bridge, Telephone Exchange, Link Road near Celebration Mall, outside new DTO Office, District Library, Rani ka Bagh to Uppal Hospital and Municipal Corporation Office, Ranjit Avenue.

When the technical bid was opened by the Municipal Corporation officials on Wednesday, only one contractor for the Guru Nanak Bhawan City Centre parking lot and three for Old Sabzi Mandi Hall Gate had filed the bids.

According to the new rules, 50 per cent of the total amount has to be deposited by the successful bidder after the financial bid.

Along with this, checks and bank guarantees of the balance amount have to be given to the MC. After this process, allotment letter is given to the contractor. The MC will once again conduct e-auction of the remaining parking lots.

The MC officials claimed that with the change of rules on payment before the allotment, only genuine contractors were coming for bid. Earlier, influential people used to get the contract by bidding high amount, but did not pay the amount to the MC.

The MC is now operating three parking lots by deploying their own employees.