Corp to take action against excessive parking fees

Several raids have been conducted to crack down on illegal parking lots

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The city corporation’s bylaw, which has introduced certain curbs on commercial establishments in collecting parking fees from customers on their premises, will be strictly enforced in the city. The decision was taken after the city corporation found that Kerala University authorities collected excessive fees for parking vehicles on its premises during the T20 International cricket match held in the city on December 8.

Commercial establishments including shopping malls ought to provide free parking space in the area adjacent to their buildings.But there is a rampant practice of charging parking fees for such spaces. In some cases, the parking fee is charged on an hourly basis.

The university authorities collected Rs 250 for cars and Rs 100 for two-wheelers which led the corporation to take action against them.“We received several complaints regarding the excessive fees charged for parking vehicles. According to the bylaw, no private or public institution has the legal right to collect parking fees. Despite repeated warnings, violations have been found. Strict inspections will be carried out,” said Mayor K Sreekumar.

He said the issue at the university was raised with the vice-chancellor who promised to take action against the offenders.“The city corporation has the authority to issue a licence to commercial establishments. The Kerala University authorities could have taken a nominal fee but they violated the rules. We need to ensure that such a situation isn’t repeated,” said Sreekumar.

Though the corporation had issued notices to a few commercial establishments weeks ago, the rules continue to be violated in various establishments.

According to Town Planning Standing Committee chairman Palayam Rajan, several raids have been conducted in the city to crack down on the parking lots functioning illegally in cinema theatres, hospitals and other establishments based on complaints. “We had held several discussions regarding vehicle parking fees and decided to take action against the offenders,” said Rajan.