Splitting may cure parking headache

CHANDIGARH: Bifurcation of the paid-parking lots for a better running of the system will be on the municipal corporation’s agenda for the monthly general house meeting coming up on February 28.

The MC hopes that dividing the total lots into two and hiring a contractor for each half through a separate tender will help maintain the terms and conditions that it has laid down for interested companies. A senior officer in the MC said: “This is so that no single parking contractor can sabotage the system. If one company does a bad job, the entire new system will not collapse, while the corporation will be able to fix things without troubling the commuters. The details will be on the agenda papers and it will be up to the members to approve.”

Sources in the MC said the two-contractor system will also encourage a healthy competition between the contractors for delivering a better service to the public by adding smart features and gadgets for things such as space-hunting and ticketing. The MC has 25 surface lots and one underground facility in Sector 17 where people can pay and park. Arya Toll Infra used to run these lots for about Rs 14 crore a year. These spots are in the core markets of the northern, southern, and eastern zones.