Chandigarh MC House declines relief to two parking contractors

Sandeep Rana

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Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, November 12

The local Municipal Corporation (MC) is going to issue about Rs3.62-crore revised notices to the two paid-parking lot contractors after the General House today decided not to give exemption in licence fee to the two agencies managing the 98 parking spaces in the city.

According to MC Additional Commissioner SK Jain, a Rs1.20-crore notice will be served on the Zone 1 contractor and Rs2.42-crore notice will be issued to the Zone 2 contractor. It is the pending licence fee of the past few months, up to October 31.

It will be a 15-day notice asking the firms to clear their fee dues. In case of default, they will be served a reminder or final notice. If they still failed to pay, they will be bound to surrender the paid-parking lots.

Citing losses, the two firms had sought fee exemption on account of lockdown during the second wave of Covid, few “non-feasible” parking lots and free parking extended to all MC employees. The Zone 1 contractor sought a fee exemption of Rs1.02 crore and the Zone 2 contractor Rs98.64 lakh.

However, both BJP and Congress councillors did not favour it during the House meeting today.

Councillor Davesh Moudgil said, “There are numerous violations in the parking lots and fee exemption is not required. If they are saying they will move court, let them go. Why should we let the public money go to them?”

Supporting him, Leader of Opposition Devinder Singh Babla said, “The companies cannot threaten us in the form of surrendering the parking lot or going to court.” Senior Deputy Mayor Maheshinder Singh Sidhu and councillors Shakti Prakash Devshali and Satish Kainth also spoke against the fee exemption agenda.

Meanwhile, a spokesperson of a parking agency told Chandigarh Tribune, “We are yet to recover from the losses and will again ask the MC to reconsider our request.”