Transport bodies upset with BMC's proposal to hike parking charges

Transport bodies have joined the chorus against the civic bodyrsquos proposed hike in parking charges Heads of associations of trucks tempos and the owners of school buses have come out against the move that was ratified by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporationrsquos Improvements committee lsquoProposal to hike parking rates clearedrsquo December 27BMC commissioner Sitaram Kunte felt that buses and trucks parked on the road block the carriageway Representation picFor instance the Western India Automobile Association WIAA has demanded that the BMC reconsider the move WIAA is the largest automobile association in the country with about 11 lakh members most of them being car owners In November 2013 when the same Improvements committee had slammed the proposal to introduce a threefold hike the WIAA had written to the municipal commissioner Sitaram Kunte seeking an appointment to discuss the issue The commissionerrsquos office however has not replied to the letter till dateThe association is upset over the BMCrsquos approach Nitin Dossa executive chairman of the association said ldquoThis is dictatorship We strongly oppose the revised charges as no infrastructure has been created since last 60 years and there is no improvement in the public transport Why canrsquot the sea link be extended to south Mumbai Why has no water transport project been implementedrdquo ldquoThe BMC aims to encourage the public transport and discourage cars from coming to south Mumbai Where does it plan to accommodate these commuters while local trains are running packed with people hanging out of the doorsrdquo questioned DossaThe association felt that the BMC should revisit their plans ldquoIf the BMC does not reduce the charges within 810 days we will approach the courtrdquo Dossa told MiD DAY Ashok Pandit the chairperson of Oshiwara Lokhandwala Residents Association a residentsrsquo body also informed that they were considering going to court over the matter Meanwhile the All India Motor Transport Congress the apex body of the state district and taluka level transporters and is affiliated with 2500 associations in the country feels that transporters should be exempted from parking fees Bal Malkit Singh the president of the association said ldquoTo park a vehicle is our liabilityOur vehicle doesnrsquot come to the city to be parked We only park our vehicles to load and unload consignments We pay several taxes like permit tax road tax entry point tax etc So we should be exempted from parking chargesrdquo School bus owners feared the increased charges would affect business Anil Garg president of the School Bus Owners Association said ldquoThese charges are very highIt will affect our business as we have to park buses for 23 months when schools have vacations We have to bear that cost which ultimately will be borne by parentsrdquo The BMC is firm on its decision BMC chief Sitaram Kunte clarified ldquoThe Improvements committee has already cleared the proposal and we are not restricting parking It will help restrict roadside parking as many heavy vehicles tend to blocks the carriageway by parking in long lines