BANGALORE: The Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BMP) sub-committee set up to study the pros and cons of reintroducing the pay-and-park system has decided to urge the State Government to permit the civic body to scrap the scheme.

A resolution to this effect is likely to be adopted at the civic body's monthly meeting on Tuesday.

On April 3, when the BMP Council approved the civic body's budget for 2006-2007, it was decided to set up a sub-committee, headed by Mayor Mumtaz Begum, to study the feasibility of reintroducing the controversial scheme.

The former Mayor R. Narayanaswamy had scrapped the scheme from April 1, 2005.

The committee, which was asked to study the proposal of banning hoardings in the city, was supposed to submit its report within 20 days.

But the committee is ready with its final report only now.

The committee members, including the Deputy Mayor M. Lakshminarayana, ruling party leader H. Ravindra, Opposition Janata Dal (Secular) leader B.R. Nanjundappa and the Bharatiya Janata Party leader A.H. Basvaraju, who finalised the report on Monday, have decided to persuade the Government to allow free parking "as most of the citizens are in favour of it."

The report said that alternative steps should be evolved to ensure disciplined parking on roads.

"It is definitely a burden on the people to pay a minimum of Rs. 2 every time they park vehicles albeit for 20 to 30 minutes," the report states.

Soon after the scheme was scrapped, the then City Police Commissioner S. Mariswamy, who had objected to it, had written to the then Chief Minister N. Dharam Singh not to allow free parking.

Following this Mr. Singh had rejected the BMP's proposal to scrap the scheme. The former Commissioner K. Jothiramalingam had tabled the proposal to reintroduce the scheme in the BMP council in February.

But the ruling Congress in the BMP was forced to defer the proposal after members of the Opposition Janata Dal (Secular) and Bharatiya Janata Party expressed different opinions on the issue.

Recently the traffic police submitted a list of 91 roads to the BMP where they felt "pay and park" scheme is essential.

Hoardings

Mr. Ravindra told The Hindu on Monday that the committee has decided to pull down all hoardings in the city within a month and invite fresh tenders.

"We will start removing the hoardings from Wednesday and complete the process within a month. We will work on innovative tender guidelines for outdoor advertising, which can help us mobilise at least Rs. 250 crore a year," he said.

"We will adopt separate resolutions in this regard and forward them to the Government for consideration," Mr. Ravindra added.

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