Parking fines to cost you Rs 23,250 in Mumbai!

Beware Mumbaikar! Earlier, only Mumbai Police or the Traffic Police had the power to act on illegal parking. So what is the rule and what can the BMC fines do? The price of parking your car on a side street and running to the shops has just gone up. So what happened? We explain.

What is the new fine?

According to the RTO figures, there are over 30 lakh vehicles in the city and this number is just going to keep going up plus with the increase of illegal parking in no-parking zones, obstruction to emergency vehicles like fire brigade and ambulances and causing traffic jams, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has introduced a new parking rule in Mumbai. The civic body will use the Mumbai Municipal Corporation (MMC) Act’s Section 314 and 381 that deals with encroachment and nuisance for action against the violators, under which, vehicles found parked in the ‘No-parking Zones’ will attract a penalty ranging from Rs 5000 to Rs 15000.

With a penalty for late payment, it could go up to as much as ₹23,250, a BMC official told PTI Saturday and the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation began imposing hefty fines for illegal parking within a 500-meter radius of 26 authorized public parking lots from July 7.

Now- no parking available, no pavements, roads dug up, but will fine Rs15,000 to Rs23,000 on alleged "unauthorised" parking. heck, hardly any authorised parking in Mumbai that is free from taxis, tankers and buses. @mybmc dont start harassing people in the monsoons @Dev_Fadnavis https://t.co/WkykojLCJL

— Sucheta Dalal (@suchetadalal) July 6, 2019

How is the fine applied?

For this rule to be effectively applied, BMC has hired ex-servicemen to assist traffic police and In the first phase of implementation, the civic body has identified 23 public parking lots across the city and any vehicles found parked within 500 meters of public parking lots (PPL) will be slapped with a fine. The BMC saw an increase in the number of people using PPLs on the day the fine was imposed and in an official statement Tuesday evening, the civic body said action has so far been taken against 243 vehicles, comprising 133 four wheelers, nine three-wheelers and 101 two-wheelers. “The BMC on Tuesday issued challans to 107 vehicles, comprising 53 four-wheelers, three three-wheelers and 51 two-wheelers. The total fine collected is Rs 5,19,460,” it stated.

Also Read: Tips for driving in the rains

Will fines solve anything?

These seem to be popping up in Mumbai. Can some action be taken against the illegal shanties and slums that clog otherwise available parking space… pic.twitter.com/Ahxrf3WPPN

— Neil Mykael (@goa_man) July 7, 2019

While it may seem like a good move, many have slammed the BMC, the richest municipal corporation in Asia online for rolling out such a scheme during monsoons that have made the already difficult commute life in Mumbai a bit harder and most of the infrastructure projects going on in the city like Metro and flyovers have made space on congested roads less. No parking boards have come up all over the city and life has become a bit harder in the city.

So what do you think? Is this correct? Will the menace of traffic and congestion be solved by these fines? Are you okay with the cost of these fines? Let us know in the comments below.