Report illegal parking on hotline

Mumbaikars can now lodge online complaints or call the toll-free helpline number of Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) to report illegal parking in the city. The decision comes a day after the Bombay High Court asked the BMC and the Mumbai Police to act against illegally-parked vehicles.

Citizens can use the BMC website (www.mcgm.gov.in) and a toll-free helpline number (1916) to report automobiles flouting parking rules. The corporation will soon come up with a system to look at grievance e-mails, messages and also set up a separate helpline number for people to lodge complaints against illegal parking or abandoned vehicles.

To regulate parking, the civic body is also planning to set up a special parking authority under the Development Control and Promotion Regulations (DCPR) 2034, said a BMC official.

“There is a problem of parking in the city, especially of heavy vehicles, autorickshaws and taxis. The authority will ensure that there is more space for parking and also keep a check on illegal parking,” the official said. The authority will lay down regulations for citizens, a violation of which will entail punitive action. The regulations will supposedly include locations where parking is illegal, fines for illegal parking -- on-street or off-street, among others, it is learnt.

However, there is no clarity on when the new authority will be established. As of now, BMC manages parking regulations in the city along with the traffic police.

Amitesh Kumar, Joint Commissioner of Police (Traffic), said, “Currently, BMC retains seized vehicles for 48 hours but if the owner fails to claim the vehicle within that time, it is transported to a BMC godown. A list of such vehicles is then sent to the traffic police to verify lost or stolen vehicles. If a vehicle is unclaimed for three months, it is auctioned under the Mumbai Municipal Corporation Act 1884.”