The charges for using the parking lot could well decide the fate of the project to set up the first automated underground parking bays in the city.
The civic administration, which has faced flak from several quarters over its decision to spend Rs444 crore to set up seven underground parking bays between Regal Cinema and Crawford Market in South Mumbai, which could accommodate 1,400 vehicles, has now reiterated that if the political leadership permits a hike in parking rates, the money invested in setting up these parking bays could be recovered.
Parking rates in the city are among the lowest in the world. While proposals to hike parking rates have been floated several times, the state legislature has shot these down fearing a public outcry.
Even as corporators held back an approval for the ambitious proposal when it was tabled before the civic standing committee on Tuesday, the civic administration circulated a note stating that the high costs involved in the project could be substantially mitigated if parking rates are hiked in accordance with international fees.
Comparing the existing parking rates with those in other cities, the note said a citizen pays only Rs30 for parking a car for six hours in public parking bays in Mumbai. If a car were to be parked for a same duration at a public parking lot in Tokyo, it would cost Rs2,625; in London, Rs2,834.
The corporators had last year rejected a proposal for a four-fold increase in hourly parking rates, which is currently Rs5. Senior officials said if it was approved, sizeable revenue could be gained from the underground parking project.
A survey report released earlier this year by real estate firm Colliers International had listed Mumbai as the second cheapest parking district in the world. The survey, which was based on parking rates in 2008 and 2009, compared 140 business districts in the world. Only Chennai was rated cheaper than Mumbai. Civic officials said the parking rates were last revised 12 years ago.
The proposal was held back by the standing committee, whose members, including Rajendra Lad from Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) and Sameer Desai from Congress, demanded the administration come clean on allegations that a transparent process was not followed while selecting a contractor for the multi-crore project. A consortium of Venue Infrastructure Ltd and Wohr Parking systems have been chosen for the work.
