Corporation’s draft bylaw on parking fees seeks to fix a ceiling on the fee collected

The Thiruvananthapuram Corporation’s draft bylaw for parking facilities run by private parties seeks to bring in a ceiling on parking fees collected from the public. As per the new rules, parking area, as specified in the Kerala Municipal Building Rules, has to be provided with all building complexes. Vehicle parking facilities have to be provided free of cost to customers in these demarcated areas.

The Corporation has divided the parking area within the city into two zones, and fixed parking fees accordingly, depending on the commercial potential of the area. Zone 1 consists of tourist areas, commercial areas including Chala and Palayam market and areas coming within 500 metres of these places, the major city centres including East Fort, Thampanoor, Secretariat and Medical College. The parking areas, which have entry and exit points to a city road above 10 metres in width, would also come under this zone. The rest of the areas would come under zone 2.

The parking fee for motorcycles and scooters in zone 1 for the first four hours has been fixed at ₹12, while in zone 2, it will be ₹10. For regular cars, the parking fee for four hours will be ₹25 in zone 1 and ₹20 in zone 2, while for bigger cars and SUVs, it will be ₹30 and ₹25 respectively. Parking charges have also been fixed for autorickshaws, buses, trucks and mini buses. A minimum fine of ₹10,000 will be imposed on those found to be operating illegal parking facilities, without a licence from the Corporation. It has been found that quite a few have been running private parking facilities without licences and collecting fees.

The licensee of the parking facility has the complete responsibility of ensuring the safety of vehicles parked in the facility. Applications for starting parking facilities will have to be cleared within six weeks of receipt of the application. Though the bylaw does not specify parking facilities within malls, hospitals or other commercial establishments, the rules are expected to be applicable to these too once it comes into force after the State government’s approval.

An earlier attempt by the civic body in 2018 to implement a bylaw had failed as the State government did not clear the proposals. Over the next two weeks, the public can submit their objections and suggestions for the latest bylaw, which has been approved by the Corporation council. After this, it will be sent to the State government for approval.