Illegal parking and fleecing by a section of parking attendants are growing across the city, several opposition councillors of the Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) alleged at the monthly meeting of councillors last week.

At the meeting, BJP councillors Sajal Ghosh and Vijay Ojha flagged illegal parking in Burrabazar and Bowbazar.

Ghosh, councillor of Ward 50, told Metro on Sunday that roads meant to be “free parking” or “no parking” zones have been converted into paid parking zones.

“This is completely illegal. Agencies and unauthorised men are making money, but the KMC is not taking any action,” he said.

“Double or triple-line parking is a common sight in central Calcutta, despite only a single line being permitted. On some roads, cars are parked perpendicular to the road instead of parallel, narrowing space for vehicles and adding to traffic snarls,” said Ghosh.

Several in the city told Metro they are often charged three to five times the parking rate fixed by the KMC in some parts of central and north
Calcutta.

A north Calcutta resident, who drops her daughter off at La Martiniere for Girls school every morning, said the minimum charge for parking a car around Loudon Street is ₹50 an hour. The rate is the same as Park Street on weekends, she said.

The KMC-approved parking rate is ₹10 an hour four-wheelers and ₹5 an hour for two-wheelers during the day (7am to 10pm). These rates are applicable across the Calcutta municipal area.

Attendants in the parking area under the Park Street flyover, opposite the Indian Museum, also charge ₹50 an hour.

“I recently went to Kyd Street and wanted to park my car under the Park Street flyover. A man came and told me the parking rate is ₹50 an hour. I told him that the KMC-approved rate is ₹10 an hour. He asked me to leave the parking space. I did not argue and left,” said a south Calcutta resident.

In other places, where the demand is not as high as Dalhousie or Park Street, attendants ask for ₹20 an hour.

“No receipts are given, no board mentions the approved rates or displays a helpline number where a car owner can call if an attendant tries to fleece you,” said the north Calcutta resident.

The overcharging problem is not new, nor is the KMC’s reluctance to act against the cooperative agencies that manage the parking bays. Many wonder why the civic body does not do anything despite knowing that car owners are charged more than the stipulated rates.

Over two years ago, in January 2023, the KMC introduced digital payments for car parking and a mobile app designed to display the number of vacant spots in each parking bay. Both were launched with pomp and show.

Civic authorities had promised that digital payments would stop — or at least reduce — overcharging. Entry and exit times were to be digitally recorded, and an electronically generated receipt with the time and fee was to be handed to a car owner or driver leaving a parking bay.

The app rarely worked as intended, and hardly any parking attendants accept digital payments now.

Debashis Kumar, the mayoral council member heading KMC’s parking department, admitted that the app does not work.

“The Kolkata Police is supposed to see the app’s functioning. We have raised the issue with them and will raise it again,” he said.