The City
Corporation’s well planned pay parking policy has been re-introduced in the city and it has
so far been a bumpy ride. Five areas in Panjim have been earmarked as pay
parking areas with a fee of Rs 20 for the first hour and Rs 15 for the
subsequent hour for four wheelers. Many car owners and bike owners are
confused, since the first notification stated Rs 20 for first four hours and Rs
15 for extra hours. A corrigendum was later issued, clarifying that RS 20 would
cover just one hour and not four, making the fees steep for those who need to
park their cars the whole day at a spot
It is yet to see how
the scheme will help control traffic in Panjim.
Giving clarity on the
misconceptions, CCP Mayor Uday Madkaikar, said that the CCP received the
Collectorate’s corrigendum on the notification in January that the fees will be
Rs 20 per hour and Rs 15 for every additional hour for 24 hours including
public holidays and Sundays.
“Residents will
receive one pass for one vehicle only. There are only exceptions for High Court
Judges vehicles and ministers’ vehicles with plaque cards. The notice was
published in newspapers and the message was posted even on social media. There
are some elements that are creating confusion over this issue,” said Mayor
Madkaikar
He further adds, “The
people are ready to pay the fees and the locals are also very supportive of the
new system. There will be some confusion in the beginning few days and it will
take nearly 15-20 days for the scheme to become stable. The parking lots are
already full and there are no problems so far.”
Speaking about the
residents of Panjim whose parking spaces will now be paid parking, Madkaikar
explains, “residents will have to produce their house tax to receive a free
pass for their vehicles. There are some really old building which we have
identified without any parking space. New buildings which had originally showed
a parking area which are now converted into shops or garages will not be given
free passes.” To relieve vehicle owners from paying hefty sum, a pass system
has been introduced on monthly, quarterly and yearly basis. Rs 2,000 monthly
pass; Rs 5,250 quarterly pass and Rs 18,000 for one year, is on par with
concession.
Former MLA Siddharth
Kunkolienkar says, “CCP and pay parking and the third word is scam. We have
seen so many pay parking schemes by CCP and each time there has been a scam.
Sometimes, the contractor has done the collection and ran away with the money
and CCP didn’t receive a single rupee. This is the money of the Panjim
residents. At EDC in Patto, there is a proper process for pay parking and in
Panjim, there are only scams happening”
On the first
notification and the corrigendum issued by the collector later, Kunkolienkar
was livid, “I thought that this time at least, the pay parking system would
work well in Panjim but again this project has fumbled. For this project, it
would be Rs 20 for the first four hours on which basis the tender was released.
But now, from four hours, it has been changed to one hour and Panjimities have
been taken for a ride as they now have to pay Rs 80 instead of Rs 20 for four
hours. The contractor will also have to give CCP the same amount but
Panjimities will have to suffer. This is a scam and a proper investigation
should be done and who is to be blamed for this should be held responsible.”,
he said in scathing attack on the CCP controlled by a Mayor close to his party
colleague and current MLA Babush Monseratte
Siddesh Morai, a
resident of Panjim says, “What the collector had told us with the notice was Rs
20 for four hours and now the sign boards across the city says Rs 20 for each
hour for the pay parking scheme. The mayor and the CCP should take action
against this as this is the common man’s money. I feel this is a scam and CCP
should solve this issue at the earliest.”
Valmiki Naik, an AAP
candidate says, “when pay parking is implemented, people should be offered some
free parking somewhere. There is no public transport within the city besides
the main road otherwise you need your own vehicle for transportation. If people
are feeling troubled over this issue of change in the rates ( to te detriment of
people) then we will boycott this scheme and we have to pressurise the
government and the CCP to work together with parking and traffic problem.”
While
it will take time for the system to fall in place, those who are working in
Panjim and have their cars parked for over eight hours of work will have to
shell out a hefty sum for parking .
