KMC to soon start collecting parking fees digitally

Kolkata: The Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) will soon start collecting parking fees in digital mode and stop any sort of cash transactions in the parking lots in

the city.

The move is aimed at ensuring 100 per cent transparency in the collection of fees.

“A pilot project will be launched on January 18 and we will initially start with 125 POS machines. The provision of the number of POS machines in each of the parking lots will depend on the number of vehicles parked at the place,” Debasish Kumar, Member Mayor-in-Council (Parking) said.

According to a senior KMC official who looks after parking, payments can be made by debit or credit cards through point-of-sale (POS) machines. One can also make UPI payments.

The Parking department of the civic body will also roll out an app which can be downloaded on mobile phones and will give real-time information on the number of slots available in any parking lot at any given point in time.

The official launch programme will take place infront of a star hotel in the Dharmatala area on Wednesday

in presence of Kolkata Mayor Firhad Hakim and Kolkata Police Commissioner Vineet Goyal.

The KMC started the process of installing a prominent display board mentioning the name and contact number of the agency responsible for maintaining a particular parking lot. The constant presence of parking personnel of the concerned agency responsible for manning a particular parking lot will be mandatory.

A person availing facility of the parking lot may lodge a complaint with the Kolkata Municipal Corporation app if he/she finds any overcharging of parking fees or other irregularities.

The rate charts will be prominently displayed at all the parking lots.

Overcharging, refusal to hand receipts for payments and absence of parking rate charts are common woes Kolkatans face when they try to park their cars or two-wheelers anywhere in the city.