Revenue generation: KMC decides to charge parking fee at 21 new spots

Parking rates to stay the same as before.

KARACHI:

Hoping to generate more revenue, the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation (KMC) has decided to charge parking fee at 21 new locations in the city.

These new locations will have contractors charging the fee with immediate effect. The KMC had specified that the parking rates will remain the same as the rest of the city - car drivers will have to pay Rs20 while motorcycle riders will have to pay Rs5 each time they use the parking spot.

Haroon Shopping Mall in Buffer Zone is one of the areas where parking will be charged with immediate effect, along with UP Mobile Market in North Karachi, NADRA office in New Karachi.



The roads close to Hyderi Market, Syed Hashim Raza Road, Sir Syed Road and Hafza Road in North Nazimabad, Fateh Bagh in North Nazimabad’s Block-F will also be charged parking spots. People visiting the Sindh government hospital in Liaquatabad will also be charged parking fee. The two sides of Nawab Siddique Ali Khan Road, starting from Golimar roundabout to Lasbella bridge and back will also have charged parking.

Apart from these areas, Sharae Rasheed Shami Shaheed Road in Gulberg, the parking lot in front  of AO Clinic in Nazimabad, the service road in front of Chase Up and Saifi Hospital in North Nazimabad Block F will also have charged parking.

In Gulshan-e-Iqbal, the service road from Hasan Square to Nipa, KayBees and Muhammad Ali Society roundabout, Chase Up at Nipa, Qurtaba market in Bahadarabad and the street where Raju Ice Cream is located will have charged parking. Near Sharae Faisal, the road starting from Duty Free Shop and National Bank towards Shaheed-e-Millat Road is also on the KMC list.

The remaining areas include the market in Korangi No 6, Frere Hall, Patel Hospital in Gulshan-e-Iqbal Block 4, the service road in front of AG Sindh Building Audit and Accounts Complex near Nipa Chowrangi , main University Road, Gulshan-e-Iqbal, Waheedud din Khan Buzai Road, Shaaz Super Market, Stadium Road and the area adjacent to Hassan Medical Centre.

The notification issued by the KMC requested people to cooperate with the municipality officials and help them generate revenue for the department. It said the revenue will be used to improve parking facilities in the city. Those who have valid objections must file them in writing within seven days, the notification stated.

Unofficial parking rates

Despite the KMC-approved parking rates, the contractors manning these sites are notorious for charging more. There are 43 designated charged parking sites in the city, where at least 2,000 motorcycles and over 1,000 cars are parked each day. According to an estimate, KMC employees take home more than Rs15 million as illegal profits each month. The KMC’s charged parking director, Raza Abbas Rizvi, when contacted, accepted that they had received several complaints regarding fake slips. He, however, assured that strict action had been taken against those involved in the sham.

He reported that the corporation had cancelled the contracts of 10 sites, while another four were being monitored. “There are, however, a number of sites involved in the violation of KMC codes,” he admitted. According to Rizvi, almost all the 43 sites are being run by KMC’s own employees while the rest have been tendered to contractors.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 19^th, 2013.