Pay and park malpractice continues

The Pay and Park scheme was supposed to be one of the progressive developments in the city, earmarking parking areas and ensuring revenues went into the coffers of the corporation. Two years ago, a scam was unearthed where the private contractors who were managing the lots printed fake coupons and charged amounts higher than was mandated. Initially the authorities took no note of it, but after opposition parties threatened to create a hue and cry the licenses of the erring contractors were promptly cancelled and the BMP said it would run the pay and park lots itself. Today malpractices continue unchecked. The BMP-installed boards with details of the location, category and parking charges have conveniently disappeared. There is no way of telling if the person manning the lot is the authorised person since he carries no identity card nor wears a uniform. And these crooks no longer print fake coupons but instead, if at all, dispense coupons of A category locations in B category locations and collect a higher fee.