Fleecing is still occurring in large cities in parking lots; tourists hit

The public has not received any relief from overcharging at several paid parking facilities run by the Municipal Corporation, district administration, or any other department in the city, regardless of whether it occurred during the terms of the previous Congress, SAD-BJP, or AAP governments. The district administration’s multi-level parking lot, the MC’s multi-level parking facility next to the Zone A Office, and parking lots like Bhadaur House and AC Market are only a few locations where the exploitation of guests still happens often.

The Municipal Corporation plans to hold a new auction of these parking lots shortly, rather than taking firm action against any contractor discovered to have engaged in malpractices during the last year. Some NGOs have previously argued that the MC ought to oversee the lots directly rather than contracting them out to other parties. Nevertheless, the city’s paid parking system lacked transparency, and the officials had not just turned down the request. Concerns are also being expressed over the involvement of the relevant MLAs and MP, who have been quiet about the severe issue for a while.

Gaganpreet Singh, a city resident, said that MC authorities’ lack of monitoring was forcing individuals to pay up to Rs 100 for automobile parking at Bhadaur House parking lots for stays less than two hours. For the first two hours, the official parking price for a vehicle is Rs 20. Most tourists weren’t normally given fee slips there. Additionally, some parking charge boards were placed in a way that makes it difficult for guests to view them well. The MC authorities had opted to overlook the incident, despite the parking contractor’s obvious intentions. The public’s complaints have not even been addressed by the relevant political representatives.

Inder Aggarwal, a BJP politician, has claimed that the city is home to a functioning parking mafia. He said that despite the AAP government’s promises to be fighting corruption, overcharging at paid parking lots is still happening. “People are being forced to pay amounts exceeding the prescribed parking fees at the multi-level parking lot operated by the district administration,” he said. This is still the case at Sabji Mandi and in several of the corporation-managed parking spaces. The parking mafia has not been driven out of the city with any meaningful action.

The CPI district secretary, DP Maur, emphasized that the district administration must develop a specific strategy to promote openness in municipal parking lots. “Due to unchecked overcharging, I was charged Rs 40 for parking my car at the multi-level parking lot under the district administration’s jurisdiction,” he added. As the parking mafia has operated under both the current and past administrations, action must be taken immediately to eradicate it.

Madan Lal Bagga, an AAP MLA, agreed that the MC’s parking lots have been the subject of a few complaints about overcharging. “The necessary steps will be taken to prevent such incidents in the future,” he said.

MC Commissioner Sandeep Rishi said that action would be done to stop overcharging and announced that the municipal body will hold a new auction of the MC’s paid parking lots.