Cuttack: The municipal corporation has put 30 paid parking areas across the city up for auction with a reserved price of Rs 24.96 lakh for the upcoming 2018-19 fiscal.

Municipal commissioner Bikash Ranjan Mohapatra said tenders had been invited for different parking areas on Thursday.

"We will finalise the allotment prices after the respective tenders are opened on March 31," Mohapatra said.

A sub-committee of the police's Traffic Management Committee had identified the spots to develop parking spaces in 2016. The district magistrate had accordingly notified them as parking areas for different vehicles. Subsequently, the civic body developed those parking areas.

Assistant commissioner of police Pradip Kumar Dalai said the parking areas were identified to ease traffic congestion at main thoroughfares in the city.

"Several of them had been identified at commercial and prominent market areas that lacked parking facilities that led to traffic congestion on the roads," Dailai said.

Civic officials said the highest bidders would be authorized to collect parking fees at their respective areas after finalisation of the tenders.

According to the authorisation, commuters who park four-wheelers will shell out Rs 20. While auto-rickshaws and trolley rickshaws will be charged Rs 10, the charge for scooters and motorcycles will be Rs 5. The parking charges for bicycles will be Rs 2.

The parking area in front of the SBI's main branch near the Collectorate here has the highest reserve price or base price of Rs 2.99 lakh.

Among the other major parking areas put up for auction are Tejeswar Rao Chhak near SCB Medical College and Hospital on Ranihat side (Rs 2.07 lakh), Badambadi Taxi Stand (Rs 1.83 lakh), Khannagar Kilkhana (Rs 1.76 lakh), the stretch between Satichaura and Aswini Hospital (Rs 1.65 lakh) and the area in front of Bombay Hotel at College Square (Rs 1.27 lakh).

The civic body had put up for auction 30 parking areas with a total base price of Rs 20.23 lakh for the previous fiscal and pocketed Rs 22 lakh. It has added an additional 11 sites for auction for the upcoming fiscal.