Parking mgmt in city to get stringent

With the on-street parking management system remaining a non-starter in Chennai, having failed to generate the expected revenue, the Greater Chennai Corporation has decided to streamline the system by deputing revenue officials to monitor the implementation, three years after the project was launched.

A Corporation official said when the project was implemented under the Smart City scheme in 2019, it was expected to generate Rs 7 lakh revenue per month by collecting parking charges from vehicle owners. “However, the revenue generation is too low as the parking management could not be implemented as planned,” the official added.

At a recent meeting, Corporation Commissioner Gagandeep Singh Bedi instructed the revenue wing to depute tax assessors and tax collecters to monitor the system in their respective areas. In 2019, the civic body had appointed a private firm to implement the project and had identified around 12,000 ECS (Equivalent Car Space) on major stretches including Pedestrian Plaza and Marina Service Road. Earlier, the project was managed by the special projects wing. Now, it has been transferred to the revenue wing. “Field officials will inspect the roads and review the collection of charges from the vehicle owners. To park vehicles in the selected roads, owners should pay Rs 20 per hour for cars and Rs 5 per hour for two-wheelers.

Action against violators:

A press release has warned vehicle owners against violating parking rules. “A few vehicle owners fail to pay parking charges. To prevent such practices, a meeting was held with the city police. It was decided that action would be taken against the violators under the Motor Vehicle Act,” the release stated. The Corporation also released the list of roads where the parking management system is in effect on its official website. Vehicle owners can complain of higher charges or other misconduct with the civic body by dialing 1913.