‘I will make parking free for vehicles from Haryana, Punjab if…’: Chandigarh Mayor Anup Gupta on row over parking fees

Q: What is the motive behind the move?

A: Every state or union territory thinks about the betterment of itself and its people and we have done the same. Instead of providing an exemption to vehicles of Panchkula and Mohali, we have included Chandigarh too.

Think about it this way — Citizens of Chandigarh, Panchkula and Mohali will have to pay half of what citizens who hail from outside Tricity will be paying. Moreover, those from outside Tricity do not pay us road tax.

Q: Chandigarh is the joint capital of Punjab and Haryana. What about employees who come with vehicles to Chandigarh from these two states?

A: If Punjab and Haryana stake claim over Chandigarh, what is it that they are contributing to us? Have they given anything to Chandigarh or are the two states helping us in any way? Since Chandigarh is their capital, will Punjab and Haryana give me land to dump my garbage or set up a waste treatment plant? After all, their employees also stay in Chandigarh so where is their waste going? The answer is Chandigarh.

I will make parking free for all their registered vehicles but in return, I ask for land to dump my garbage.

Will Punjab, Haryana or even Himachal Pradesh give domicile status to the citizens of Chandigarh? When they can think about their citizens, we can think in favour of our citizens too.

Q: There is severe backlash even on social media. Your decision is being termed as regional discrimination. What’s your take on this?

A: What kind of regional discrimination did we engage in? Did vehicles registered outside the Tricity pay road tax to Chandigarh? When they haven’t paid road tax to us, they will have to shell out more than the citizens of Chandigarh. When you go to Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, don’t you pay entry tax there? Don’t you pay congestion tax in other states?

Q: Going by that logic, even Delhi can say that Chandigarh vehicles do not pay road tax to us and thus, they cannot ply here. What’s your take on that?

A: That is their discretion. Every state or union territory has a right to exercise its discretion for the betterment of the city. I have thought about our citizens.

Q: There is a sizeable population of doctors, defence personnel and others who have been staying and paying taxes in Chandigarh for decades. Isn’t the move unfair to them?

A: If they have been staying in Chandigarh for a long time, they should get their vehicles registered with us and pay road tax to us.

We have made parking for two-wheelers free as students come here to study and most of them have two-wheelers. So, I don’t think the move to double the parking fees will be a problem.