Hyderabad: Loopholes in parking order can be exploited

Hyderabad: Though the state government has decided to provide free parking in the city, it is unclear whether GO No. 63 will be applicable to single-screen theatres or not. 

The GO also does not prescribe restrictions on the parking fees collected by shopping malls and multiplexes, for over an hour of parking. 

Sources say that the owners and operators of multiplexes and commercial establishments will exploit loopholes in the GO that is supposed to come into effect on April 1, and hike parking fees. 

According to GO No. 63 dated March 20, 2018, no parking fees are to be collected from customers for the first 30 minutes of parking. 

Parking fees are also to be waived for 30 minutes to one hour if the customer is able to produce proof of having purchased something at the shopping mall or multiplex. 

And for over an hour of parking, a customer is to be exempted from the payment of parking fees if he is able to produce a bill or movie ticket amounting to more than the parking fee.

However, the GO does not mention whether these rules apply to single-screen theatres or not. There are over 200 single-screen theatres in the city, where parking fees are in the range of Rs 20 to Rs 35 per show. 

The GO also does not place a cap on the parking fee amount, which gives shopping malls and multiplexes the opportunity to hike it. 

Highly-placed sources reveal that single-screen theatre plan to continue collecting parking fees, even if customers are able to produce tickets as proof of purchase. 

“If a person purchases a water bottle worth Rs 20, or a soft drink worth Rs 50 and parks his vehicles for one hour, for free, malls and multiplexes will be overcrowded. In order to avoid this, owners of commercial establishments and multiplexes plan to hike their parking fees to more than Rs 100, which may be a major burden to citizens,” a source says. 

A senior GHMC officer has revealed to this newspaper that the GO is applicable to single-screen theatres as well. 

He says that the issue will be soon be brought to the notice of the government, and a revised GO, with clear instructions, will be issued. He adds that it is too early to take a call on the capping of parking fees. A decision is likely to be made only after the implementation of the GO from April 1 onwards.

Mall, multiplex owners feign ignorance 

Owners and operators of multiplexes and shopping malls in the city are clueless about the introduction of free parking in the city. The Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) has decided to hold a meeting with them on March 29, to discuss the implementation of GO No. 63 from April 1. The GO No. 63 was issued by the department of municipal administration and urban development on March 20. It stipulates that no parking fees are to be collected by shopping malls and multiplexes for the first 30 minutes of parking, and parking fees are to be waived for one  hour if a customer is able to produce proof of having made a purchase. 

Sources reveal that the owners and operators of shopping malls and multiplexes claim to be unaware of the GO. 

They do not plan to implement it until they are given some clarity regarding the matter. 

GHMC officials have decided to hold a meeting with the owners and operators of multiplexes and shopping malls at the headquarters of the civic body on March 29. Officials claim that the corporation will initiate stringent action if free parking is not implemented from April 1. 

“We will not spare anyone if the GO is not implemented from April 1. Whether mall-owners participate in the meeting or not, the GO has to be implemented. The corporation will initiate stringent action in case of a failure to do so,” said an official.

GHMC to identify own land for parking space

The Corporation has decided to identify its own land and seek the permission of Hyderabad Metro Rail Limited to provide parking facilities to denizens.  
Three months have passed but the citizens were not coming forward to give up private lands for parking. In the past three months, only one property owner came forward in Yellareddyguda, near Ameerpet Metro Station, to provide land for parking. 

The GHMC officials held a meeting with traffic police on Tuesday where the latter suggested to hand over the parking project to private agencies in order to yield good results. 

Even though it was a preliminary discussion, officials felt that the project was not viable. Officials said that another meeting for stack parking, will be held.