STAND UP FOR YOUR RIGHTS
Clampdown on fleecing at parking lots….Linah Baliga
Errant Contractors Will Be Made To Cough Up A Month’s Earnings
Clampdown on fleecing at parking lots….Linah Baliga
Errant Contractors Will Be Made To Cough Up A Month’s Earnings
Mumbai: Civic parking lot attendants fleecing motorists or failing to issue electronic receipts will now have to face the music.
The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has decided to cut a month’s earnings of the contractors in charge of the pay-and-park lots if cases of malpractices come to light. This decision was taken by additional municipal commissioner Aseem Gupta on Wednesday.
“Contractors will be fined if rules are violated. I’m in the process of issuing a circular on the same. We will undertake periodic inspections based on the complaints received on our helpline. Stringent action will be taken and errant contractors can also be blacklisted,” said Gupta.
The decision follows a surprise check at Crawford Market and Dadar TT parking lots on April 16. Civic officials posed as motorists and found major violations there.
“At Crawford Market, our official who used a two-wheeler was overcharged . In Dadar TT, the receipt procured by the civic official wasn’t an electronic one and it didn’t mention the time,” said Gupta. “The official rate is Rs 10 for an hour and Rs 5 for each additional hour. But motorists are illegally being charged Rs 20 to as much as Rs 60 per hour,” an official said.
However, activists are not sure if the BMC move to penalize contractors will help in solving the problem. “How will the civic body calculate a contractor’s monthly earnings. We fell the move is an eyewash. Instead, it will help if officials supervise the parking lots personally and blacklist errant contractors on the spot,” said Mohammed Afzal, an activist.
“Whenever citizens complain on the helpline, he should be given a number. The BMC should develop a site where complainants should know about the status of their complaints from time to time,” he added.
However, Krishnaraj Rao, another activist, welcomed the move and said that the city needs to earn revenue from the use of public resources, like parking zones. “A parking lot is a scarce public resource. Any plugging of leakage of revenue is welcome. As a car owner, I support it. The site where complaints are lodged should be monitored by the BMC regularly” he said.