No custodians named for parking fees
Source: The Sangai Express

Imphal, April 16 2010: Though it has been recognised that parking lots of Khwairamband Keithel are assets of the Imphal Municipal Council, parking fees collected from these parking lots remain unutilised, with no decision on who should handle it.

According to an information received from the Transport Regulatory Parking Committee (TRPC), collection of parking fees was suspended for sometime due to many factors such as its inability to handle the work properly, interference by armed groups and digging up of roadsides for Sewerage Project.

As no revenue was forthcoming after collection of parking fees was suspended, the TRPC held a meeting and decided to hand over the work of collecting parking fees to the police.

Parking fees being collected from motorists

Under this arrangement, collection of parking fees resumed from the early part of 2009 .

The work of nominating parking agencies for different parking lots of Khwairamband Keithel was also done by police.

Notably, SP Imphal West and DSP (Traffic) are members of the TRPC.

In line with the agreement reached during the TRPC meeting, the revenue obtained from parking fees should be deposited with with police.

But it still remains undecided who should own this money and where it would be utilised.

Parking fees of Rs 5 for two-wheelers and Rs 10 for four-wheelers are being levied in Khwairamband Keithel and in other commercial centres of Imphal.

Though collection of parking fee is done by police, parking lots of Khwairamband Keithel are assets of the IMC.

This has evoked a serious question whether the parking fees collected by police should not be handed over to IMC.

But again, there is not a single representative of the IMC in TRPC.

It is reported that the IMC was not informed when the TRPC was formed.

Meanwhile, the IMC has decided to take over the parking lots of Khwairamband Keithel within this month, informed another source in the IMC.

After publishing advertisements, the IMC would select parking agencies through open tender.

The parking agencies currently manning parking lots in Khwairamband Keithel were not selected according to rules through open tender.

Incidentally, the IMC has been reeling under a severe financial crisis bogged down by a backlog of around Rs 11 crores.

The IMC has been unable to pay monthly salaries of its employees for around 27 months.

Selection of parking agencies would take sometime.

Once the selection of parking agencies is completed, the parking agencies selected by police would be replaced, said the course.

As soon as the IMC take over the parking lots of Khwairamband Keithel, hoardings would be put up at parking lots giving details such as rate of parking fees, duration, types of vehicles etc.

The IMC is also preparing to collect vendor tax of Rs 30 per month from each vendor once the three Ima Markets are inaugurated.

This is against the current rate of Rs 15 per month per vendor.

Moreover, necessary measures would be initiated to ensure regular payment of vendor taxes by women vendors and to take action against defaulting vendors, added the source.