The Corporation will soon set up a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) for the management of all parking lots in the city.
The SPV is expected to lead to the development of more parking lots, and optimise revenue generation and regulate the existing lots.
Currently, most of the city’s 145 parking lots are managed by the Tamil Nadu Ex-servicemen Corporation (TEXCO), which gets 30 per cent of the total amount collected as parking charges.
At least 500 parking lots will be managed by the SPV after Chennai Corporation completes the demarcation of the lots. Royapuram, which currently has 42 lots, may get 78 more and become the zone with the largest number of parking lots.
Additional parking lots will also be created on Wallajah Road, Ramanathan Salai, Harris Road, Rajaji Salai, EVK Sampath Salai, Vepery High Road, Pulla Avenue, Anna Nagar Second Avenue and Konnur High Road.
Last year, the civic body had joined hands with the traffic police to find a lasting solution to haphazard parking. The traffic police, after identifying congested stretches in 11 zones of the city, handed over a list of 361 potential spots for developing parking lots to Chennai Corporation. The zonal officials were asked to consider the list of the spots and increase the number of parking lots in their zones.
However, at many of these spots, unauthorised personnel now collect parking charges from users. These amounts are usually in excess of those charged at authorised parking lots, a Corporation official said.
Besides, the Corporation has instructed personnel of TEXCO not to collect parking charges for two- and three-wheelers. But the instruction is not followed in some parking lots in the city. The parking charges for cars at these lots are Rs. 5 for six hours and Rs. 20 per day.
The SPV is likely to offer a solution to challenges created by illegal parking lots and unauthorised private operators who continue to fleece motorists in the city, the official said.
