Dear Chief Minister of Goa and Urban Development Minister cum Dy. Chief Minister of Goa.
Hon Sir/s, I was surprised to read today's news that the CCP is planning to invoke heavy fines on parking violators in the city. To start with, minor fines CCP could have implemented and then raised accordingly depending upon the situation and the conditions of roads etc. Fine, perhaps it makes sense for the CCP to get funds, it could have been introduced after the monsoons or after the roads are properly done up. People pay road taxes but roads are really in bad conditions as their vehicles get damaged. Who pays for the damages due to bad road conditions? A poor man or a distracted driver having a two wheeler surely will curse CCP if fine is given. Whether the contractor is approved by a committee or not, and whether he maintains proper books records serial vize, it is not known. If there are no records then it will turn into a SCAM. We know that House Tax is still not been recovered by CCP and it will be never done as the books are not in proper shape. I feel that before this pay parking scheme is introduced in the city, all these loop holes cited by me, must be discussed in the committee meeting. A good discipline is require for the drivers while parking their vehicles so that no scratches or damage to other nearby vehicles is done. I know that most of the drivers park their vehicles in haphazardly manner which needs to have a proper sign or marking line on the parking slot. Also a security must be given by the contractor if their vehicle is robbed or damaged for which a proper slip must be issued with vehicle number, time and date. What about the bicycles which they do not have any licence nor any tax token, as they too will be given a parking slot. In Portuguese times these bicycles had licences with a brass sticker but now they have nothing nor even a licence to drive. Mostly they are minors and coming from poor families who are driving all kind of cycles. All these issues cited by me needs to be discussed before implementing pay parking or else it may bounce back on CCP as the approved Contractor himself may disappear from the circulation. He needs to have a valid ID card with photograph approved by CCP> I am not sure whether I will get a reply from the CCP Commissioner or a new Mayor. Stephen Dias D.Paula Fining of parking violators by CCP bears fruit Number of violators has come down considerably NT NETWORK PANAJI: The Corporation of the City of Panaji (CCP), which independently began penalising parking violators in the city with hike in fines, has helped in bringing down violations considerably. According to information available, the CCP since January this year engaged a private contractor to carry out drive against parking violations under CCP Act, 2002 with fines for two-wheeler fixed at ` 250, four-wheeler ` 400 and ` 600 for a six-wheeler. According to deputy commissioner, Sudhir Kerkar, one of the reasons why the fines were hiked was to bring discipline among the road users. "Increased fines will deter public from haphazard parking," he said. The idea seems to have worked as there have been lesser violations in the last few days. "On the first day itself around 50 four-wheelers were clamped and soon the number came down. On an average just over 25 four-wheelers were found parked in no-parking zones. However, since the last few days the number has come down to around 15 to 20 (per day)", said contractor Sajjad Shaikh. In case of two-wheelers, he said, "Previously around 25 to 30 two-wheelers were found parked in no-parking zones. The number has now reduced to around 10 to 15 per day." People don't mind paying ` 100 for parking violation, but when they come to know of the increased fines, they avoid repeating the violation, Shaikh said. However, some who have been penalised for parking violations have claimed non-uniformity in the fines collected by the traffic wardens deployed by the contractor. Reacting to this, Shaikh said that "the violators enter into an argument after the fines are told to them. Some claim ignorance of the no parking zones and cite other reasons. In such cases sometimes the fines are relaxed." As per information, the contractor has to pay CCP around ` 42,000 every month against the contract of lifting or clamping vehicles. "The maximum fine against parking violation is fixed and the contractor cannot charge more than that. For two-wheeler it is ` 250 whereas for four-wheeler it is ` 400," said Kerkar, deputy commissioner of CCP, noting that, "Charging lesser than the prescribed fine is the discretion of the contractor."
