Pay & park loot continues

Pay & park loot continues
By Sandeep Moudgal,DH News Service,Bangalore:
Despite the withdrawal of the mysterious Pay and Park notification by the Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike, the parking fee collection continued in many parts of the BBMP East Zone outside the MG Road-Brigade Road area on Saturday.

But more baffling was the blame game at the Palike. Jagdeesh, Assistant Revenue Officer, who issued the order, insisted he was only following his seniors’ directions. It eventually turned out that Urban Development minister S Suresh Kumar had forwarded a request from ex-serviceman G Subramanya to be considered for the contract.

The minister was quick to distance himself from the controversy, clarifying it was not a letter of recommendation, but only a forward. A copy of his direction dated December 8, 2008 to the BBMP Joint Commissioner, available with Deccan Herald, said the request of the parking contractor could be looked into and suitable action would be taken.

Suresh Kumar explained he had received scores of petitions and requests on a daily basis and forwarding them to the respective departments was the practice. The request that he forwarded should not be misinterpreted as a recommendation. “Perhaps the next time, I may not even recognise his (the parking contractor’s) face,” he said.

But, even as this drama ensued at the Palike, Subramanya’s men continued to tax motorists. Although the BBMP demolition squad was on the move on MG Road, Brigade Road and the surrounding areas, the “unauthorised” Pay and Park scheme was in full force on Lavelle Road and its crossroads, near Jyothi Nivas College and other areas.

Subramanya justified this saying he was yet to receive the cancellation order from the BBMP. According to him, it was unjust of the BBMP to corner the contractors with lower income, while it had awarded contracts to major firms on Brigade Road and other select areas under the same circumstances seven years ago. “I have spoken with the officials and tried to convince them,” he said.

Meanwhile, Jagdeesh claimed he was ordered to award the temporary contract to Subramanya, and he had abided by it. Incidentally, Jagdeesh himself led the demolition squad and seized parking tickets issued on Saturday.

Documents sourced from the Palike show the order to collect the parking fee was passed on December 26 with the approval of Additional Commissioner (East). But the latter insisted he had only asked for a “discussion” on the matter and had not approved the fee collection. “It was without my knowledge that the ARO passed the order,” said Puttuswamy, the official.

He said he had sent a written recommendation on Saturday to the Divisional Deputy Commissioner of Police to initiate criminal action against the ARO.