Kolkata: Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) has reverted to its old parking fee structure, seven days after it started collecting parking fees at an increased rate.
The roll-back was effected through a notification a few hours after the Trinamool Congress (TMC) party spokesperson and state general secretary Kunal Ghosh had told a news conference that the hike did not have the nod of the party chairperson Mamata Banerjee.
The parking fee was increased with effect from April 1. According to the new parking rates four-wheelers were to pay Rs 20 an hour for the first two hours, Rs 40 an hour from the third to fifth hour, and Rs 100 an hour for every hour beyond that.
The old rate was a flat Rs 10 an hour between 7 am and 10 pm. The rates for two-wheelers were increased too.
Ghosh had reasoned that Banerjee believed that the hike in parking fees will be a burden on the common people.
According to sources, neither the government nor the party approved this decision. Banerjee was unaware of this decision and it is her philosophy that common people should not be burdened.
The matter had come before the notice of party national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee who spoke with the party chairperson and accordingly the roll-back was communicated.
A senior official who oversees parking in the KMC said that a notification regarding roll-back to the previous structure was brought out on April 7, (Friday night) and accordingly it was communicated to all the parking lots in the city. Fees as per the previous rate are being collected from today (Saturday).
The KMC had hiked its parking rates not only to improve its revenue collection but the higher rates, particularly for longer duration parking, might have dissuaded the people from bringing their cars into the city. They may have availed of public transport which could have contributed to curbing pollution.