Ludhiana: The Ludhiana MC is going to start the auction of sites for paid parking once again in the city. As per the information, people will have to pay double the parking charges this time which would be on an hourly basis. The reserve price, however, will be reduced for putting a check on overcharging.The development came after mayor Balkar Sandhu asked civic officials to start the auction of parking sites before the imposition of election code of conduct. The civic officials are in the process of identifying a few more sites where they could start the paid parking scene in the city.Sources said that MC may not include the parking lots of Sarabha Nagar and Feroze Gandhi Market in this auction as construction work under the Smart City mission has already kicked-off in both the areas. Moreover, there is a possibility of multi-level parkings being built in the areas.Till now, the residents were paying Rs 5 for two-wheeler and Rs 10 for four-wheeler parking, but with auction in the offing, the charges would be doubled, said civic officials.Sources in the MC said, the charges of multi-level parking lot near MC’s zone A office at Mata Rani Chowk have been revised to Rs 10 and Rs 20 and when more such sites will be auctioned, similar rates will be implemented. The MC will reduce the reserve price to curb overcharging, said an official.Meanwhile, mayor Sandhu said, “I have asked the concerned officials to auction the parking sites and allot them to contractors as soon as possible.”Zonal commissioner J S Sekhon said they have received instructions from the mayor and are working on the terms and conditions before organising the auction.Notably, the MC had e-auctioned 11 parking sites in the city in August 2018, but people had complained about overcharging and other irregularities in the parking system. The inspection conducted by joint commissioner Kulpreet Singh also proved the same. The MC then decided to cancel the allotment in January. Ever since, these parking lots have remained free of charges, except the multi-level parkings in the city.

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