Chandigarh, Feb. 12 -- With elections weighing heavy on their minds, councillors in the Chandigarh MC House rejected the agenda to turn 213 free parking areas across the city into paid parking spaces, on Wednesday. These parking sites are located along V-4 roads (roads that bisect a sector and have shopping areas and other conveniences located along them). Currently, Chandigarh has 89 paid parking sites, of which 74 are managed by the engineering wing of the municipal corporation (MC). Amid opposition from all councillors, the agenda was rejected as no one agreed for the same, even to implement the same on a trial basis. The agenda mentioned that the parking spaces on V4 roads and market areas fall under the jurisdiction of the civic body. The details of these sites, along with their two-wheelers and four-wheeler holding capacity, were also submitted, and a plan was pitched to identify and operationalise suitable sites from these 213 sites in slots of 20-25, on a rotation basis on trial, and assess it for revenue generation. While 88 such parking sites were identified in road division number 3, another 91 were earmarked in road division number 1 and 34 in road division number 2. Free parking currently remains unmonitored, leading to vehicles being left unattended for days. Paid parking will ensure proper surveillance, and facilities like closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras will help regulate parking effectively, the agenda stated. The councillors, however, openly said that in the election year, they cannot take a risk, and asked for the agenda to be deferred. MC commissioner Amit Kumar tried to convince them, stating that it would help generate some revenue, but the councillors put their foot down. Mayor Saurabh Joshi then said the agenda stands rejected. The General House also deferred the agenda to approve decisions taken by a committee constituted under the directions of the Punjab and Haryana high court in a long-pending case related to tourist bus parking in the city. The court has directed that the entire regulatory exercise be completed beforeMarch 31. The agenda for a dog pound with a capacity of 1,980 canines in Sector 25-West was approved by the House. The proposal includes the construction of a dedicated dog pound with an estimated cost of Rs.18.4-crore which was approved. The House also approved the agenda to go paperless and install hi-tech screens and headphones on councillors' seats....