The state government’s new parking policy brought a relief to the vehicle owners of Hyderabad and other urban areas of Telangana. This new policy which will come into force from April 1, 2018, will regulate the parking charges and address various issues related to parking.
As per the new Government Order (G.O), a parking fee will not be levied for the first 30 minutes. And for next 30 minutes to one hour, vehicle owners will not be charged a parking fee if they produce a bill of any amount in proof of having done shopping in the respective mall/multiplex. Beyond one hour, the vehicle owners will get an exemption from parking fee if they produce a bill/movie ticket to an amount which is more than the parking fee.
The policy is being welcomed by various sections of the society. Keerthan, an IT employee from Hyderabad said, “I travel by four-wheeler and each time I visit a multiplex, I pay a three-digit parking fee. It is a lot of money. This new rule has come as a big relief.”
Past few months, Municipal Administration and Urban Development officials have been receiving numerous complaints from vehicle owners over the unreasonably high parking fee being collected by mall and multiplex management.
Arvind Kumar, MA&UD Principal Secretary issued the policy on parking via government orders. One of his tweets read, “Based on complaints on high parking fee made to MA&UD Minister KT Rama Rao, parking fee in Malls and Multiplexes rationalized for all Urban Areas including Hyderabad with effect from April 1st. No parking fee for the first half hour & subsequently, free parking upon producing purchase bills from the mall/ticket.”
Earlier, a huge amount of parking fee was being collected in commercial establishments irrespective of the duration of the parking or purpose of visit. Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) is gearing up to take necessary action against the concerned if there are any deviations of the order.