It's pay and park on these roads but BBMP has little info

Bengaluru: Private agencies are minting money from parking spots on more than a dozen roads in core Bengaluru, but the BBMP knows little about these operators who charge motorists on an hourly basis. 

Some of the roads where "unauthorised persons" are collecting parking fees include Church Street, Kasturba Road, Vittal Mallya Road, Rest House Road, outside Cubbon Park, Lavelle Road, St Mark’s Road, and Museum Road. When the BBMP developed these roads under the TenderSURE project, it created parking spots for hundreds of two-wheelers and cars, unlike other stretches. 

Private operators are charging Rs 15 per hour for two-wheelers and Rs 30 for cars on these roads. It is learnt that the agencies may have been selected without inviting the tenders. Neither the BBMP's zonal office nor the head office knows the terms of the agreement with the private agencies. 

Notably, the parking operators have put up boards that read 'BBMP Pay and Park'. These boards display a license number to make them look official, but none of the boards displays the contact number or address of the licensee.

"This is daylight robbery," a motorist fumed after being asked to pay for parking on Kasturba Road. "There is no public information about the paid parking lots, nor is there any transparency about the money these operators share with the civic body. Why should we pay fees to these goons?" he questioned.

BBMP's chief commissioner Tushar Girinath and zonal commissioner R Snehal stated they would investigate who authorised the private agencies to collect parking fees. 

Around five years ago, the BBMP introduced a pay-and-park facility on these roads by engaging an agency through a tender. The agency stopped operations last year after it became public that the operator, which was expected to pay Rs 31 crore per year to the civic body, had not paid even a single penny in the last three years.

As these parking spaces were unattended, some individuals saw an opportunity to make a quick buck.

Anil Nachappa, spokesperson for the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), suspected that the parking operators were aides of the local elected representative. "When we questioned them about the collection of fees on Church Street, they mentioned the MLA's name. They could neither provide a license nor any permission from the BBMP. This is nothing but exploiting innocent citizens," he said. He noted that the parking agency removed the board a day after he threatened to file a police complaint.