“The previous panel completed some of the work like identifying parking lots in some wards and drafting a policy,” said an official from the BMC. The expert panel was reconstituted in January 2021 to study legal aspects of formation of the parking authority and create a comprehensive plan for parking management in all 24 wards. 

Former IAS officer Ramanath Jha was appointed as an advisor while the TISS was designated as the agency in charge of recruiting urban planners, traffic planners, urban designers, and geographic information system designers to help the parking authority function. Initially, the cost of the contract was R2 crore but it increased to Rs 4.7 crore, including spending on raising awareness.

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Officials said the BMC chief has extended the contract of the expert panel from January 18, 2022, to January 17, 2023. For this, the BMC will spend  Rs 5.62 crore, which includes Rs 3.2 crore for payments to the experts, Rs 1 crore for advertisement and allowances, and R1.4 crore towards a survey.

“The key tasks of the expert panel also include policy formation, ward-wise detailed plan for providing convenient, safe, and affordable parking across the city, fixing parking rates, deciding on fines for offences, issues pertaining to traffic signs and boards, use of technology for parking management, creating city parking pools for proper use of government, commercial and residential properties for parking,” said a BMC official.