Parking Fees Horror: Lessees Loot Public, GMC Turns Mute Spectator

Incompetent Guwahati Municipal Corporation

STAFF REPORTER

GUWAHATI: What is the amount one need to pay to park his vehicle on city roads? No one exactly knows. Reasons are not difficult to find out. The Guwahati Municipal Corporation (GMC) has become a mute spectator to whims and fancies of its lessees to charge any amount from city residents to park their vehicles. It will not be exaggeration to say that lessees are literally looting public in the name of collecting parking fees.

The GMC is entrusted with the responsibility of manning 50 parking zones in the city. The yearly contract is invited for each zone and the responsibility handed over to the lessees. As per GMC guidelines, parking charges are fixed at Rs 5 for two-wheelers, Rs 10 for three and four-wheelers and Rs 20 for trucks during the first two hours after which, the same rate applies on an hourly basis.

But the million dollar question is whether these are the charges actually levied on the unwary city residents, who are charged exorbitant amounts in the name of parking payment. As transparent as the entire process seems, these crafty leasees have managed to dupe thousands of people on a daily basis with their dubious rates which escalates on an hourly basis. They have been slyly looting public money from gullible citizens who pay through their noses everyday without even realizing that they are being deceived.

When questioned by The Sentinel, a leasee in one of the parking zones impudently informed that the rates are increased hourly counting even the first hour. According to him, GMC parking charge rules have changed and the people are not aware about the new rules. However, this soon turned out to be an outright lie when a GMC official confirmed that no such changes were made for the current financial year 2019-20.

This mockery of the naivety of the citizens has not just the leasees to blame but also the GMC who seems to have washed off their hands soon after tendering. There is absolutely no monitoring and these sly businessmen are given free reign. Moreover, for public awareness, the rate chart should be put up in all the 50 parking zones, which also is conveniently ignored.

As per the GMC source, bids are invited for the 50 parking zones every financial year, however, this year, due to certain unavoidable circumstances it was delayed to June/July.

A victim who was regularly hoodwinked until our reporter spoke to him said, “I have been paying Rs 20 for my four-wheeler, which doubles every subsequent hour this whole year. I was not aware about the rates as there are no charts to refer to. Also, most of the times, the ticketing-in-charge did not give me a parking slip even when I insisted.”

This open deception has been going on for years now and thousands of gullible tax-payers have fallen prey to it as their hard earned money is so smoothly swindled from them. The moot question is that who will take responsibility for this scam as people all over the city face daylight robbery even as this news piece is being penned.

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