Chandigarh, March 18 — After a four-year hiatus, the Chandigarh administration is set to reintroduce paid parking at Sector 26 grain market, with a ₹1-crore tender to be floated next week. Shoppers will be required to pay parking fees, while farmers will remain exempt, officials said.
Currently, parking at the market is free, but visitors face unorganized parking and frequent congestion. The new contract mandates that no fee will be collected at the entry gate, following a Punjab and Haryana High Court intervention that previously led to legal action against the former contractor for charging at the entrance.
The administration said the parking charges will align with the rates levied by the municipal corporation at its parking lots. The new facility will operate 24×7, with collection restricted to designated parking areas. Commission agents (arhtiyas) will be issued passes.
The market, a key commercial hub attracting shoppers from the tricity and wholesalers from Himachal Pradesh and Punjab, often struggles with parking shortages, resulting in traffic snarls.
Officials estimate that the delay in implementing paid parking over the past four years has caused a revenue loss of ₹10 crore. The previous contract, allotted for ₹2.21 crore, was scrapped due to irregularities. The new tender, submitted by the market committee, is pending administrative approval.
