Mumbai, April 21 -- After drawing a blank despite five extensions, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) will reissue tenders for its proposed smart parking app, easing eligibility norms and revising financial terms to attract bidders, according to officials aware of the developments. Since May last year, the civic body's traffic department had invited bids to develop an integrated parking management system, centred on a mobile app that would allow motorists to locate and book parking slots across on-road and BMC-run parking lots in real time. The system is proposed to be supported by sensors and cameras installed at individual parking bays to display availability on the app. Mumbai has just 37 public parking lots with space for 29,715 vehicles, even as its vehicle population crossed 5 million in early 2025, including around 1.5 million private cars, making the hunt for parking a daily struggle in the space-starved island city. Despite this demand, the tender drew no response due to stringent eligibility criteria, officials said. For instance, bidders were required to have at least five years of experience in the parking sector and experience in large infrastructure projects. "The criteria were too high, and only bigger bidders could qualify. We are now bringing down the eligibility so that more players can participate," said a senior civic official. The BMC has also decided to remove certain clauses, including one that required bidders to pay property tax for parking premises. Prospective bidders also indicated that the financial terms and compliance requirements made the project unviable. Contractors were particularly wary of the costs associated with installing and maintaining sensors and cameras, which they said would lead to losses, officials revealed. The proposed technology-driven system aims to minimise human intervention and ensuring accountability through real-time monitoring. "Everything going online will ensure there is accountability and prevent misuse of public parking spaces, and also the maintenance cost would go down," the official said. "The move by BMC to revisit the smart parking tender is a constructive step," said Dr Abdul Ahad, a scholar working on parking policy. "At the same time, a balanced approach of combining technology with effective enforcement and user-friendly design will be crucial. If implemented wholeheartedly, it will improve overall urban mobility."...