Restriction on collection of parking fee
Monday, 10 August 2009 05:39
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The Hindu - Kerala 10.08.2009 Restriction on collection of parking fee Staff Reporter | Ombudsman order relates to fees on roads that do not belong to corporation |
The PWD had objected to the corporation collecting fee from roads which belonged to it Ombudsman directs the government to take a decision within three months on the issue
KOCHI: The Ombudsman for Local Bodies, M.R. Hariharan Nair, restricted the collection of parking fee by the Kochi Corporation from roads that do not belong to it. The Ombudsman ordered that the restriction would be in force until the government makes any amendments to law or issues specific administrative direction as a temporary measure regulating collection of parking fee in roads not belonging to local bodies. The order was issued while considering a petition filed by D.B. Binu, general secretary of the Human Rights Defence Forum, Kochi. The Corporation had argued that Section 472 of the Kerala Municipality Act enabled it to collect fees irrespective of whether the road concerned belonged to it or not. The Public Works Department had objected to the Corporation collecting fee from roads which belonged to it. The Section 472 is something akin to the one for establishment and collection of fees for markets, where the Corporation provides facilities for marketing and provides space there for which the user pays fee. Here, the parking is not on land belonging to the Corporation. Corporation has neither purchased nor hired any land for facilitating parking. It has also not earmarked any land of its own for parking of vehicles and no service or facility is provided by the Corporation to the vehicle owner in the matter, the Ombudsman said. The Ombudsman’s order, the complaint and the statements filed by the PWD and the Corporation should be forwarded to the Principal Secretary, Local Self Government Department, for issuing appropriate directions, which will be uniformly applicable to all local bodies, he directed. If any amendment to Sec 472 or the Rule concerned or framing of new rules governing the matter is found necessary to enable collection of parking fee in areas that do not belong to the local body, it will be considered. The Ombudsman directed the government to take a decision in three months.
Last Updated on Monday, 10 August 2009 05:55
The parking ticket may get costlier
Friday, 31 July 2009 06:12
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The Times of India - Lucknow 31.07.2009 The parking ticket may get costlierPankaj Shah, TNN 31 July 2009, 03:16am ISTLUCKNOW: Planning to drive your dream car in the heart of the city? Hold on. For, the Lucknow Municipal Corporation (LMC) is planning to put brakes into your dream drive by increasing the parking cost. And that too on an hourly basis. At present, the parking rates -- Rs 10 for a four-wheeler and Rs 5 for a two-wheeler -- are charged for the first four hours. The rates are increased on an hourly basis after that. But now, plans are afoot to do away with the arrangement, instead imposing parking charges on an hourly basis straightaway. What's more, if the corporation had its way, the number of parking lots in the city would be reduced considerably, thereby, forcing an average driver to park one's vehicle at only a selective parking lot and walk all the way to the market. The said aspects are part of the proposal prepared by the LMC and sent to the department of urban development. Municipal commissioner, Shailesh Kumar Singh confirmed that the proposal has been drafted and sent to the urban development. "The idea is to discourage use of private vehicles in the city. After all there is a certain limit to the carrying capacity,'' he said. Singh said that the proposal is in line with the recommendations of the supreme court appointed committee headed by Bhure Lal, a former IAS officer. The committee had recently pulled up the department of the urban development for not having proper roads and the requisite public transport, even as the city continues to swell with large number of private transport. "We have suggested that the parking rates be increased on an hourly basis. By how much, that would be decided by the department which would look into the local aspects and paying capacity of people in the city,'' the municipal commissioner told TOI. LMC sources said that the rates might be increased many times as the proposal does away with the haphazardly maintained parking lots. "That would include cancellation of all parking lots maintained on the side of the roads,'' a senior official associated with the project said. In a way, almost all the parking lots in Hazratganj would stand cancelled, once the multi-level parking lot comes into picture. The upmarket area has as many as half-a-dozen parking lots which would thus be obsolete and the area would be declared a `no-parking zone'. In all LMC has close to 70 parking lots, virtually all of them on roadsides. Singh said that the multi-level parking lot in Hazratganj would finally be handed over to them for maintenance.
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Parking fee: CMC earns Rs 1.43 lakh revenue
Thursday, 30 July 2009 10:02
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Deccan Herald 30.07.2009 Parking fee: CMC earns Rs 1.43 lakh revenue | | Madikeri, DHNS: |
The City Municipal Council has earned a revenue of Rs 1.43 lakh by auctioning the task of collecting parking fees in the city. | | This includes Rs 8,500 for the parking area near the private bus stand and Rs 1.35 lakh for the parking area near Raja Seat. The specified eight months’ period is from August 1, 2009 to March 31, 2010.
The CMC had earned a revenue of Rs 11,500 from the parking area near the private bus stand for a period of 12 months. Present year’s Rs 8,500 bid for eight months shows 10 per cent increase in the revenue.
It was for the first time, the CMC auctioned the task of collecting parking fee for the Raja Seat premises. The response was indeed overwhelming. A sum of Rs 1.35 lakh bid was a record in the CMC history. There were 12 bidders for the particular spot.
CMC President P D Ponnappa, Municipal Commissioner K Srikanth Rao and Revenue Inspector Ramesh were present during the auction held at the CMC auditorium on Wednesday. |
New Act to tax professionals' income; entry toll on vehicles
Saturday, 25 July 2009 12:17
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Times of India 25.07.2009 New Act to tax professionals' income; entry toll on vehicles PANAJI: A tax on "professions, trades, callings and employments" is just one of many tax proposals announced by chief minister Digambar Kamat in his additional budget speech to the legislative assembly on Friday. A hike in the entry fee on casinos, entry toll on vehicles entering Goa, land replenishment cum green environment charge, ground water extraction charge, library cess and infrastructure tax are some of the other tax proposals announced by Kamat "in order to enhance the revenue base of the government". The government proposes to introduce an Act to provide for the levy and collection of a tax on professions, trades, callings and employments. The state is expected to collect about Rs 65 crore per year from the above proposed tax in the first year. The proposed tax shall have five slabs based on monthly incomes - income below Rs 10,000, no tax; Rs 10,001 to Rs 12,500, Rs 150; Rs 12,501 to Rs 15,000, Rs 200; Rs 15,001 to Rs 20,000, Rs 250; Rs 20,001 to Rs 25,000, Rs 300 and Rs 25,001 and above, Rs 350 tax per month. For the purpose of administration, all professionals such as doctors, lawyers, consultants, architects, hoteliers, vehicle dealers, builders, civil engineers, chartered accountants, brokers, sub-brokers and all such other professionals will be required to registered themselves with the government. A one-time registration charge of Rs 5000 will be charged to the professionals. The government also hopes to get a revenue of Rs 36.50 crore annually from the increased entry fee to casinos in Goa. "My government in an effort to discourage the youth from entering the casinos, proposes to enhance the entry fee for all casinos from its present Rs 200 per person to Rs 2000 per person," Kamat said. When asked how he would ensure compliance, Kamat said the government is coming out with regulations and might even put up a team to conduct surveys on the field. The government also proposes to introduce an entry toll on vehicles, except two-wheelers, to be levied on vehicles entering Goa. Light motor vehicles (personal use) will be charged Rs 100 per entry, light motor vehicles (taxi) will be charged Rs 150 per entry, mini trucks and mini buses will be charged Rs 150 per entry and heavy vehicles including buses will be charged Rs 250 per entry. The government hopes to collect a revenue of about Rs 20 crore per year from this entry tax that could help in the repairs and maintenance of roads in Goa, Kamat said.
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