Alandi: The parking lot of Alandi Municipal Council charges a fee from the residents. However, they are being given fake receipts by the concerned.
On the other hand, some criminals in the city regularly take installments from the employees from the money collected. As a result, the city is currently debating the exact share of the money collected from the parking lot. The city council's parking lot as a whole has become an official source of money raised.
Thousands of devotees come to Alandi on the occasion of Kartiki Wari as well as for the darshan of Mauli. However, devotees are being harassed financially in the name of parking facilities at the pilgrimage site.
Drivers, devotees and alandikars have been demanding that the parking lot be made free to prevent this from happening. Indeed, a lot of money comes from the parking lot.
Contractors get goosebumps. Therefore, it is more important to keep free parking instead of charging parking fees rather than paying the pocket of the contractor itself by robbing the poor heirs.
Meanwhile, with this year's contract expiring Sept. 8, city council staff are currently charging parking fees.
Here's the current situation.
1. Drivers have to pay extra
2. However, fake receipts are issued
3. There is no stamp or date of the City Council on it.
4. Receipt numbers are also back and forth
5. The receipt is issued by printing on white paper
A new way to give some share to criminals
In the last 20 years, vehicles of devotees have been forcibly charged exorbitant fees. However, there was less money in the city council's coffers and more pockets of contractors and employees.
In the last two years, there has been talk that a portion of the money collected from the parking lot is going to criminals. This new chapter is currently in the City Council. It also has political backing.
Residents, including devotees, however, lamented that the police and the municipal administration were not taking concrete action despite being aware of the issue.
Contractor Gabbar due to invisible power
For 20 years, The Alandi Municipal Council provided parking facilities along the Indrayani bank. If you look at the picture in the last 15 years, contracts are awarded through formal tenders.
However, most of the time, even the contractors were not paying the fees collected in time to the corporation's coffers. The city council has suffered losses of millions of dollars in the past. The contractors, however, have become nervous.
4..... Staff appointed by the City Council
16,000...... Parking fees collected daily
The amount is already taken from the contractor
Instead of collecting parking fees by issuing tenders and hiring contractors, the city council is collecting extra revenue from its employees.
On Saturdays and Sundays, the same income is Rs 20,000 a day. Now, last year, chief executive Kailash Kendre took a good decision and had already paid the entire annual contract amount from the contractor, which has already deposited Rs 40 lakh in the municipal corporation's coffers.
The basic amount needs to be fixed for awarding new contracts. Correspondence has been sent to the Town Planning Department for this. A three-member committee was formed and tenders were floated only after fixing the basic amount. Currently, city council staff are collecting fees. The income is better as it is the city council staff who work in the parking lot rather than the contractor, said Kailash Kendre, Chief Executive Officer, Alandi Municipal Council
Amount collected from parking fees
Rs 60 lakh ...... 2022–23
Rs 40 lakh...... 2023–24
The municipal council suffered a loss of Rs 20 lakh
It became necessary to make parking free to stop the financial harassment of devotees.
When the contract is awarded, the contractor charges a higher rate than the fixed amount and harasses the devotees. The administration reduced the base price while inviting tenders as the contractor could not afford it. As a result, the city council suffered a loss of about 2 million this year.
