Chandigarh, July 20 -- After years of delay, the Chandigarh municipal corporation (MC) is finally moving ahead with its 'smart parking' plan - but as a pilot project in select city markets. This is to test the technology, operational policy, and terms and conditions before a citywide rollout. The proposal is expected to be tabled in the General House meeting on July 29. "To see what technology and policy is best suited for Chandigarh, we plan to launch the pilot project in two or three paid parking lots, ideally crowded market areas such as Sector 17 and 35, so that the study can be comprehensive and factual," said MC commissioner Amit Kumar. Once converted into smart parking lots, the MC will start charging the 'already approved' increased parking rates, even in the pilot phase. Conceived in August 2022, the smart parking project aimed to introduce a FASTag-enabled parking system across all 89 paid parking lots in Chandigarh. At present, attendants issue parking slips and collect payments manually. The plan was first tabled in the MC house in July 2023 and in 2024, the charges were approved. But when the MC tried to allot the project to a private firm, it faced challenges in finalising the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) due to GST collection issues, and stamp duties. "The set rates, when combined with GST, result in impractical amounts involving paise, making payments inconvenient for residents. Additionally, the policy requires modifications, including private firm agreements," municipal commissioner Amit Kumar had said in the House meeting on March 25 this year. Following this, city councillors, instead of amending the existing flawed tender, decided to reject the project entirely, calling for a fresh blueprint with revised rates andconditions. The MC is also planning to introduce city-wide monthly car parking passes priced at Rs.500. The proposed pass would be valid for use in all paid parking areas under MC's jurisdiction and would allow unlimited entries and exits, offering a more convenient and cost-effective option for regular car users. Currently, the MC sells around 5,000 passes a month, each valid for just one parking lot at Rs.420. As per MC, around five lakh four-wheelers and one lakh two-wheelers use paid parking lots in the city every month and even if just 50,000 commuters opt for the new pass, the MC could generate Rs.30 crore annually - a significant jump from the current monthly profit of Rs.50-80 lakh. MC officials are now eying at least Rs.50 crore revenueannually from the parking project....