Brigade Road traders cry foul

Brigade Road traders cry foul
Sandeep Moudgal, Bangalore, DH News Service:
Wednesday, June 24, 2009

The parking fiasco that gripped the City’s Central Business District (CBD) a few months ago, is back to haunt Bangaloreans.


Here’s the latest: Traders on Brigade road, who were served notices by the Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) for not renewing parking agreements, now cry foul over the attitude of the concerned Additional Commissioner.

“On the morning of June 19, we had sent a letter to the Palike Commissioner stating that the agreement between BBMP and the Brigade Road Shops and Establishments Association (BSEA) is bound to expire this June 21 and requested for a further extension of the contract. But on the same afternoon at 1.45 pm, we received the notice from the Additional Commissioner ( East),” BSEA, Secretary, Suhail Yusuf told Deccan Herald.

The documents in possession of this newspaper indicate that while the agreement ended officially on June 20, 2006, the Palike had not renewed the contract till date even after repeated appeals by the shop owners. “Was the Additional Commissioner sleeping then?” Yusuf wanted to know.

The clauses under the original agreement signed on May 12, 2004 state that the total cost of the entire machinery including the operation and maintenance charges, even in case of not “breaking even,” was subject to renewal after two years for a further period of one year.

Before the agreement ended in June 2006, the BSEA sent a letter to the Palike on May 16 2006 seeking a renewal of the agreement in lieu of meeting all the terms and conditions. The BBMP sent another letter to BSEA after 10 months, and asked for a meeting with the Association on the Parking License renewal. “The meeting called on June 4 2007 was never attended by the BBMP,” said Yusuf.

Palike claims

As recently as June 9, 2009, the BSEA secretary had visited the Additional Commissioner, Puttuswamy for the renewal of the agreement for parking. It is claimed that when Yusuf met Puttuswamy, he was told that the file to renew the Parking Agreement was moved to the Advertising Department. But Joint Commissioner (Advertisment and Market), B E Govindraj told this newspaper that the file had not reached him. “The file still lies with the Additional Commissioner (East) and it has not reached me,” he said.

Meanwhile, BBMP commissioner, Bharath Lal Meena has asked for a field report on the issue. “I have asked for a field report, based on which the renewal of contract will be made,” he said. The BSEA had agreed upon a 50:50 sharing of the revenue from the 86 parking bays along Brigade Road. Till June 2009, the total revenue given to the BBMP over the past five years stands at over Rs. 1 crore.