Ludhiana: While local bodies minister Sanjeev Arora recently inaugurated a high-profile project to establish new parking sites along the national highway from Bharat Nagar Chowk to the bus stand, a shadow of administrative inertia hangs over the city’s existing parking infrastructure.The Ludhiana Municipal Corporation (MC) has consistently failed to float fresh tenders for established parking lots, opting instead to grant repeated extensions to the previous contractor. This persistent delay has sparked serious questions regarding the “pressure tactics” allegedly preventing the hiring of a fresh firm, a matter about which senior authorities remain notably tight-lipped.The stagnation is underscored by the fact that three successive MC commissioners have held office since the civic body first claimed it would hire new contractors. Despite these assurances, more than three years have passed since the current contractor was originally hired in October 2022 for a one-year term.The e-auction process remains stalled, even as the list of paid parking sites shrinks due to political interventions. Before his demise, former Ludhiana West MLA Gurpreet Gogi made the Sarabha Nagar market parking fee-free. Subsequently, during the Ludhiana West bypoll, AAP candidate Sanjeev Arora announced fee waivers for the Model Town Extension market and two lots in BRS Nagar. Consequently, the civic body is left with only a handful of revenue-generating sites, including Feroze Gandhi Market, the Mata Rani Chowk multi-storey lot, Bhadhaur House, and the remaining sections of BRS Nagar.Allegations of overcharging, rigging tendersThe parking crisis is exacerbated by chronic congestion, with residents often forced to park on roadsides due to a lack of space. The existing management has remained mired in controversy, with frequent public complaints regarding overcharging and misbehavior by staff. Despite these grievances, the civic body has faced criticism for its silence and failure to terminate existing agreements.Sources further reveal that tender documents are allegedly being “tailor-made” with restrictive conditions to favor specific players, effectively barring new competitors from the bidding process. When questioned, Mayor Inderjit Kaur maintained that tenders would be floated “very shortly,” though she offered no explanation for the months of delay following approvals from the Finance and Contracts Committee.
