‘Can pay ₹560, not ₹1,800, for monthly parking’
at the almost 200% hike in parking fees, 20 resident associations from A ward, which covers areas such as Colaba and Churchgate, approached local BJP MLA Raj Purohit on Thursday with their suggestions for the policy. The MLA will send the draft to Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) chief Ajoy Mehta.
In the new policy, which was implemented 10 days ago, daily parking charges are fixed depending on the areas – for instance parking in south Mumbai will cost more than parking in slum-dominated M-east Ward (Govandi). It also offers monthly residential parking permits to island city residents for Rs1,800.
The residents want the permits to be offered for Rs560, instead of Rs1,800. “We can’t afford to pay Rs2,000 a month. We carried out a survey among residents, who have agreed that Rs560 is a reasonable amount. The civic body says the policy has been brought in to clear roads and not make money, so we hope they will reduce the amount,” said Mahendra Hemdev, a Churchgate resident.
The letter from Action Group for Pay and Parking, a group of residents, said: “We support the idea of commercial parking, but the charges levied are too high. Our experience shows the scheme is vulnerable to monopolies which ultimately lead to payand-park mafia creating a law and order situation.”
The residents want 24-hour parking spots, with zero contractor involvement, instead of separate night parking. They have also asked the civic body to create a pay-and-park supervision body, including representatives from the BMC, traffic police, Mumbai police and residents, to discuss the challenges and find solutions.
Residents have recommended creation of additional parking space to make up for the lack of parking spots outside many buildings. “Colaba Market, 105 Cuffe Parade, BEST depots and several deserted roads could be used for parking. Create underground parking facilities at gardens and playgrounds for park ing at night,” states the letter.
The resident associations want wards to be divided into five zones. “Marine Drive could be in zone 1, Regal to Sassoon Dock in zone 2, Crawford Market to Fountain to Horniman Circle in zone 3, Mantralaya to Cuffe Parade in zone 4 and Marine Lines to Fashion Street to Queen Roads to Metro in zone 5,” said the residents.
They also want guidelines and rules of the new policy to be made available in all languages along with CCTV monitoring of encroachers. “We have sent this letter to our local MLA and he will be sending it to the civic chief on our behalf,” said a resi dent.
Meanwhile, residents of Fort area have opposed the imple mentation of the policy. In a let ter to MLA, the residents have stated that if the BMC wants to raise revenues, it must regular ise illegal parking.