City fears tainted contractors may bag parking sites again

LUDHIANA: Although the Municipal Corporation of Ludhiana has decided to allot five parking lots to private contractors soon, residents fear these sites would again go in the hands of ‘tainted’ contractors who were earlier accused of ‘fleecing’ visitors. The five parking lots – Ferozepur Road, Feroze Gandhi Market, Sarabha Nagar, Sarabha Nagar I Block, and multi-level parking at Mata Rani Chowk are the frequently visited areas of the city, and contractors would vie to secure the contracts of these lots.However, it would be interesting to see if the civic body allows contractors who have been accused of fleecing, to take part in the bidding process.
Recently, a contractor managing the multi-level parking at the mini-secretariat was blacklisted by the district administration. Bhola and Co – that managed the parking – was found fleecing two-wheelers and cars coming to the parking lot, and was blacklisted after a high-level inquiry. However, he still manages the lot. Bhola and Co is expected to take part in the bid for the MC parking, as he used to manage the Sarabha Nagar Market parking lot. Ample complaints of over-charging also poured in from the area. Another bigwig, LRY Constructions – also a tainted company, whose contract to manage the Ferozepur Road parking was cancelled by the MC – is expected to take part in the bids. Raju, the LRY contractor, was accused of over-charging visitors at the parking.
“There was a major problem faced by residents and commuters who started parking their vehicles in adjacent areas. Several complaints were made, but action was taken after a long time,” said Shivani Sharma, a resident of Gurdev Nagar. “This time, the tainted contractors should be kept far away, and new ones should be given the chance, as they would take the rules seriously. Otherwise, the old ones have contacts with MC officials, who defer taking any action against them,” said Gurwinder Singh, a resident of Model Town. “We are looking forward for permission from the house to hold the auction. Other things will be decided later on,” said Rajeev Bhardwaj, superintendent, MC tehbazari wing.