The MC decided that hourly parking charges will not be applicable from tomorrow at 89 paid parking lots in the city due to the failure of contractors to turn them into “smart” ones, as promised earlier.

The Municipal Corporation had earlier set a deadline of November 30 for incorporating “smart features” in Chandigarh’s parking lots as a precondition to start charging the hourly parking system from December 1.

A senior official said “We will ask them to add smart features to the parking lots by December 31. The hourly charges will be applicable only after that.”

Lack of attendants to manage vehicles, staff members not wearing a uniform, no boom barriers, rampant haphazard parking and no display regarding the 10-minute free parking facility are some of the issues ailing the parking spaces.

The parking contract was awarded in January this year. At present, parking rates for two and four-wheelers are Rs5 and Rs10, respectively. It was agreed that after the parking lots are made smart in May, the rates would be doubled after the first four hours. In the third slab, after 12 hours, the parking fee would be doubled again to 24 hours. There would be no charges for the first 10 minutes.