No takers for ‘lucrative’ parking lot that gets hundreds of cars a day

outside the complex,refuse to pay. The parking lot was earlier being managed by the District Court Bar

Association.

Earlier this year the Municipal Corporation took over the responsibility of managing the parking lot. The contract was allotted to a parking contractor who gave it up shortly expressing inability to manage the parking lot.

Since then the civic body has tried to auction the parking lot twice,but have failed to find any takers for the same. The result is that the parking outside District Courts complex is a complete mess and remains badly chaotic throughout the day.

A parking contractor said,“The parking lot in front of the District Court is one of the least preferred ones in Sector 17. While the other parking lots in the sector have been auctioned for a price much higher than the reserve price,none of the contractors want to opt for it.”

He added,“The people who frequent the parking lot include lawyers and police personnel. The people whose cases are going on in the court also refuse to pay. It is not possible for the contractors to function here. The parking lot is also smaller than the others and,therefore,the profit is less.”

At present the parking lot is being managed by the civic body. Officials claim that the revenue collection is not very high. Earlier the bar association was paying around Rs 1.7 lakh per year for the parking lot.

However,the complete payment has not been done. The civic body has written to the association to pay the pending amount.

Amar Singh Chahal,president of the District Court Bar Association says,“Lawyers have to come to the district court every day,at times more than once. It is not fair that they pay every time that they come to the parking lot. We are professionals and this is our place of work. The lawyers at the High Court do not have to pay. The issue of the pending rent would be discussed when a meeting of the executive body is convened.”

The Municipal Corporation has once again put the parking lot up for auction which is scheduled for next week. The reserve price is likely to be lowered in order to attract contractors.