The Hindu 26.10.2010
Plea against collection of parking fee in public buildings
Special Correspondent
The parking area should not be let out or considered a source of income
Government should take action against such practice
COIMBATORE: The Coimbatore Consumer Cause has appealed to the State Government to ensure that parking is permitted in commercial and public buildings without collecting parking charges.
K. Kathirmathiyon, secretary of the consumer organisation, has said in a release that the Department of Town and Country Planning approved building plans after ensuring that adequate parking area was provided in the proposed structures.
There was a growing trend among commercial complexes here to collect parking fee from the consumers who parked the vehicles in the space provided in the complex premises.
A commercial structure in the city was collecting Rs. 10 an hour from vehicle owners who parked their cars in the building premises.
Mr. Kathirmathiyon said that this was “highly irregular and illegal”.
Collecting parking fees in such buildings would discourage the consumers from using the parking space within the premises and they would park on the road sides.
This would defeat the purpose of making parking area mandatory in the buildings.
“The parking area should not be let out or considered a source of income,” he said.
He appealed to the Directorate of Town and Country Planning to make it mandatory that parking fee should not be collected in commercial complexes and public buildings.
Though there were no rules now banning collection of parking fees in these buildings, the State Government should consider the interest of the consumers and the traffic problems and should impose a condition against collection of parking fees while approving the building plan.
The Government should also take action against those buildings where the parking fee was collected, Mr. Kathirmathiyon added.
