The Hindu 12.08.2013
Commissioner urged to sort out parking fee issue in malls
With motorists being charged parking fee in malls of the city, physician and RTI activist M.C. Sindhur has urged the Hubli-Dharwad Municipal Corporation Commissioner (HDMC) to sort out the issue.
The Deputy Director of Town Planning, HDMC, had issued show-cause notices to two malls in the city stating that there was no provision under the law for collecting parking fee from motorists in commercial establishments like malls and multiplexes.
In spite of this, the practice of collecting parking fee has continued. “These commercial buildings are given completion certificates by the Municipal Corporation, which is the competent authority to do so. Permission is given to construct multi-storeyed buildings for commercial purpose as per the law.
And under the law, parking space is mandatory for all commercial complexes, malls, multiplexes and high-rise buildings with respect to their floor area and size of building under construction,” he wrote.
Dr. Sindhur pointed out that in case of commercial and office buildings, 25 per cent of additional parking space was required to be provided in addition to the parking standards specified in the parking regulations for visitors’ vehicles.
He said these were exclusive parking spaces meant for commercial buildings and were not ‘private paid parking places’.
He urged the Commissioner to clarify whether the owners of these establishments had any legal right to collect parking fee from visitors and if not why no action was being taken against them. The RTI activist has urged the Commissioner to ensure people were not fleeced in in commercial malls.
Opinion sought
HDMC sources revealed that the HDMC had received a reply from the owners of malls and multiplexes, in which they had reportedly justified collecting the fee, terming it as required for maintenance of the parking lot. The sources revealed that the opinion of the corporation’s legal cell has been sought and further action would be taken based on legal advice.
