Panchkula parking contractor misses ‘final notice' deadline, continues ops

Time of India

07-05-2025

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Panchkula: The parking contractor, who has been served a 'final notice' on the long-pending dues, will continue to operate the paid parking lots in Panchkula, at least for now.After the April 15 deadline, the municipal corporation (MC)had issued a 'final notice' to the contractor, directing him to clear the pending licence fee or face contract termination.However, MC officials told TOI that of the approximately Rs 1 crore pending amount, the contractor paid only about Rs 20,000 after being served the notice, apparently to save his job. The corporation seems to have bent, for reasons best known to it, and did not proceed with the termination as it had claimed at the time of serving the 'final notice'.During the MC house meeting held in March, it was resolved that the contractor should clear the amount by April 15, or else the contract would be terminated.Agitated Congress councillors had even threatened to close the paid parking lots in the markets themselves if the payment was not made by April 15. They accused the BJP-led MC of deliberately not acting against the contractor. However, as May approached, the opposition councillors were nowhere to be seen and remained silent on this issue. Meanwhile, the BJP-ruled MC seemed to have given yet another breather to the agency, as notices failed to recover the pending licence fee after months.Prior to this, during a meeting of the revenue resolution committee of the MC in Nov last year, it was decided to cancel the contract if payment was not made. Nearly two months later, the contractor managing parking lots in sectors 8, 9, and 10 paid part of the total amount, ie, Rs 55 lakh, to the corporation to save his job. However, about Rs 1 crore was still pending.Commenting on the issue, SK Nayar, president of the Citizens' Welfare Association, Panchkula, said, "When visitors to the markets are paying the parking fee to the MC, what stops the contractor from paying the licence fee for operating these spaces? The MC giving new deadlines every time shows it is not serious about recovering the amount and raises serious questions about the working of the MC. Why should he be allowed to continue operating if he is defaulting on fee? Who will be responsible if he runs away without making the payment?"When TOI contacted Mayor Kulbhushan Goyal, he said, "He has submitted some amount, and officers are seeing what is to be done next."MC commissioner Aparajita said, "After being issued the notice, he submitted Rs 20,000 and has requested to continue operating, assuring that he will clear the entire amount by Nov when the contract ends. He has given a representation in this regard to the mayor, who is looking into it."The MC remains elusive about the time period of the notice and the exact total amount the agency has to pay.Missed DeadlinesNov 2024: Revenue resolution committee of MC in Nov last year decided to cancel the contract if payment was not madeMarch 2025: MC house sets another April 15 deadlineMay 2026: Pending amount still not cleared; no action taken