Residents and visitors to Chennai's bustling T Nagar shopping district can hope for relief from chronic parking problems starting January. The Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC) has initiated steps to implement a comprehensive new parking management system for the area, aiming to bring order to the currently clogged streets.
New Contractor to Enforce Strict Parking Rules
On Thursday, the civic body floated a tender to hire a contractor for a five-year period to take charge of parking management. The move comes after years of haphazard parking and poor enforcement. The previous contractor, Toorq Media Services, was accused of barely enforcing regulations, leading to revenue loss and chaotic parking. Their contract was terminated and given to Tamil Nadu Ex-Servicemen Corporation (Texco), but no significant improvement was seen.
The new contractor will have stringent responsibilities. They must possess their own towing vehicle and CCTV cameras for surveillance. Furthermore, the contractor is required to deploy a parking marshal for every 50 cars. These marshals will be authorised to fine and clamp illegally parked vehicles. Their duties also include photographing vehicles parked illegally in interior lanes and coordinating closely with the local police for enforcement.
Scope of Management and Past Hurdles
The contractor will be responsible for levying parking charges across 1,488 square meters of land. This includes managing 222 car and 513 bike parking slots at the often-underutilized Multi-Level Parking (MLP) complex beneath the Usman Road flyover. Additionally, they will oversee 139 car parking slots and 111 bike parking slots located on Theagaraya Road, GN Chetty Road, and Venkatanarayana Road.
Despite T Nagar having over 1,000 parking slots for cars and bikes combined, the area's sub-arterial roads like Usman Road, Theagaraya Road, Venkatanarayana Road, Burkit Road, Habibullah Road, and GN Chetty Road remain perpetually clogged with illegally parked vehicles. A major factor has been the near-complete disuse of the MLP complex. GCC's efforts to appoint a fresh contractor last year were stalled because Toorq Media Services went for court arbitration, seeking a two-year extension citing revenue losses during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Official Resolve and Public Suggestions
Deputy Mayor Mahesh Kumar stated that the arbitration case has now been resolved. He emphasized that GCC will ensure penal action if the new contractor fails to manage parking effectively. "We have told the contractor to prevent illegal on-street parking, establish no-parking boards, and coordinate with traffic police to remove vehicles," Kumar said.
BJP councillor Uma Anandan suggested that the corporation should levy a heftier premium for on-street parking, potentially charging up to ₹100. "This will push people to move into the MLP or force them to use public transport," she argued. She also stressed the need for GCC to enforce building rules that mandate private parking and to first identify commercial establishments that lack proper parking facilities.
Adding a shopper's perspective, B Kannan of the T Nagar Residents Welfare Association highlighted another issue. While major stores have private parking, they often require a purchase bill for free parking. "We have to buy things. Otherwise, the shops charge for parking. This is not right — we go to multiple shops to buy what we want," he said. This practice, he added, inadvertently encourages people to park illegally on interior roads to avoid charges.
The success of this new system, set to begin in the new year, will be closely watched by lakhs of commuters and shoppers who frequent one of Chennai's most congested commercial hubs.
