Parking fee at cinemas in TN likely to be revised

CHENNAI: The Madras High Court has quashed a G.O. issued by the State government regarding fixation of parking charges in cinema theatres across TN and ordered its re-fixation in accordance with the slab fixed by municipal corporations for their parking facilities.

Justice R Subramanian recently passed the order by allowing a petition filed by Woodlands Theatres, Royapettah, Chennai. “There will be a direction to the government to re-fix the parking charges taking into account the parking charges levied by the Corporation and Municipalities for their facilities (sic),” he said. 

According to the G.O. issued in 2017, parking fee for cinema theatres for cars/three-wheelers and two-wheelers in municipal corporations and special grade municipalities was fixed at Rs 20 and Rs 10 respectively. The rate in municipalities other than special grade ones were Rs 15 for cars/three-wheelers and Rs 7 for two-wheelers. Charges in town panchayats and village panchayats were Rs 5 and Rs 3 respectively.

The theatre challenged these rates by pointing out that the rate fixed by the Chennai corporation, the railways, and the airport were much higher than the rates for cinema theatres. The corporation charged Rs 25 for the first two hours at the Flower Bazaar area, and Rs 50 at T Nagar’s Panagal Park. The airport charged Rs 150 an hour, it said. Justice Subramanian held that the fixation of Rs 20 for four-wheelers and Rs 10 for two-wheelers is very low.