Printed receipts, bearing the name of the Calcutta Municipal Corporation and mentioning Rs 20 as the hourly parking rate, are being given to drivers or owners of cars in parking bays in the city.
The Calcutta Municipal Corporation (CMC) has fixed a parking rate of Rs 10 an hour for cars from 7am to 10pm and Rs 5 an hour for two-wheelers, also from 7am to 10pm.
Taking more than the stipulated rate and issuing a receipt with the CMC’s name on it is a “criminal offence”, and not merely a case of overcharging, said Debashis Kumar, the mayoral council member in charge of the CMC’s parking department.
Metro has come across at least two such instances — on Gariahat Road South, along the western side of the Dhakuria bridge in front of the AMRI Institute of Diabetes and Hormonal Disorders, and opposite Priya cinema on Rashbehari Avenue.
A south Calcutta resident who had parked his car in front of the AMRI Institute of Diabetes and Hormonal Disorders recounted his experience to this newspaper.
“I was given a receipt that mentioned Rs 20 as the hourly parking rate. I had kept the car for about 30 minutes. When I was leaving, the parking attendant asked for Rs 20. I asked him to give me a receipt. He gave me one, which had the name of the civic body written on it,” said the man, who did not want to be named.
The yellow receipt also had the name of an agency as the licensee. This newspaper could not speak to the agency officials.
On Saturday, a resident of Cossipore parked his office car on the southern flank of Rashbehari Avenue, opposite Priya cinema.
He, too, was given a receipt that mentioned Rs 20 as the parking fee. The receipt had the civic body’s name printed on top.
“Anyone will believe that this is the actual rate because the receipt has the CMC’s name printed on it,” said the Cossipore resident. This receipt did not have the name of a licensee.
This newspaper has seen both receipts.
Overcharging by parking attendants is common across Calcutta, but giving printed receipts bearing the name of the civic body and mentioning Rs 20 as the hourly parking rate increases the gravity of the offence.
Kumar, who was informed about both instances, said he would look into the matter.
“I will look into the matter. This is not merely overcharging. This is a criminal offence because someone is using the name of the CMC and taking more than the stipulated parking rate,” he said.
“If we come across such instances, we will lodge a police complaint. I will also request the people who are being given such receipts to file a complaint with us and also with the police. This is something the police will have to handle,” he said.
Kumar pointed out that issuing such receipts is a violation of parking rules since all parking attendants are supposed to have point of sales machines and issue receipts generated by those machines.
This has been mandatory in all parking zones in the city since April 1, but an overwhelming majority of the attendants still do not use point of sales machines.
The receipts generated by such machines are supposed to have the time of entry and exit, the car’s registration number and the amount to be paid mentioned on them.
Officials in the civic body said parking bays are managed by cooperative agencies and other companies, who deposit a bulk amount to the CMC for running the parking bays.
Calcutta police had last year put up banners in parking bays asking people to dial 1073 if they were overcharged by parking attendants.
An official of a cooperative agency that manages parking bays said the CMC has increased the licence fee but is not allowing them to increase the parking rate.
“The license fee has been increased but we are still required to charge Rs 10 or Rs 5 an hour. That is forcing some parking attendants to fleece customers,” he said.
