Pimpri Chinchwad Municipal Corporation Takes A New Approach To Pay And Park
Pimpri, 7th February 2024: The Pimpri Chinchwad Municipal Corporation (PCMC) is set to roll out a revamped pay and park policy, aiming to rectify the shortcomings of the previous initiative launched in 2021, which failed to gain traction.
Initially, the pay and park facility was contracted to a private vendor by the civic body. However, in a strategic shift, the PCMC now proposes to decentralize the management, assigning the responsibility to zonal offices within the municipal corporation. Bapusaheb Gaikwad, the executive engineer of PCMC, revealed that four officials from the land and estate department would be designated to oversee the operations. The proposal is pending final approval, and the municipal corporation aims to implement the revised policy soon.
In contrast to the earlier single-vendor approach covering 58 parking spots, the new plan involves engaging multiple agencies to oversee various parking locations. Tenders for these agencies will be floated at the ward level to encourage efficient and localized management.
The previous vendor, responsible for 40 out of the 58 spots, faced challenges in implementation, compounded by pandemic-induced losses. Towing of vehicles from no-parking zones was not effectively executed until a separate tender was issued. Consequently, the pay and park facility faced low uptake among the public.
In the past, the PCMC had to float a separate tender for towing vehicles, as the Pimpri Chinchwad police commissionerate lacked approval for the task. However, with recent approval granted, no additional tender will be required to appoint an agency for towing vehicles.
Addressing concerns, Gaikwad assured that the parking charges under the new policy would remain unchanged. The decision to revise charges would be considered based on the public response. As per the officials, the proposed rates include Rs 5 per hour for two and three-wheelers, Rs 10 per hour for four-wheelers, Rs 25 for minibuses, and Rs 100 per hour for heavy vehicles.
