CHANDIGARH, 24 June — The Finance and Contract Committee (F&CC) of the Chandigarh Municipal Corporation on Monday approved bookings for the Housing Board (Dussehra) Ground in Manimajra for commercial events on a first-come, first-serve basis, reaffirming the existing process in absence of finalised policy guidelines.
The committee meeting, chaired by Municipal Commissioner Amit Kumar, included councillors Saurabh Joshi, Jasmanpreet Singh, Suman Devi and senior MC officials. “Until formal policy terms are notified, bookings for commercial grounds like the Dussehra Ground in Manimajra and the Circus Ground in Sector 17 will continue to be processed on a first-come basis,” said an official present at the meeting.
Officials said policy guidelines for such bookings are currently being finalised by a committee of councillors, and would eventually standardise terms and conditions for ground usage.
Meanwhile, attention now turns to the stalled smart parking project, which is set to be discussed on Tuesday in an all-councillor meeting called by Mayor Harpreet Kaur Babla. The aim is to seek inputs on the revamped proposal before it is placed in the MC House on June 27.
“The parking committee, headed by Councillor Saurabh Joshi, has already finalised the project’s terms and conditions and included them in the request for proposal (RFP),” Babla said. “We want every councillor’s feedback so it can be added to the final draft before it goes to the House.”
The revised project introduces several new features: vehicle-stay tracking, pink zones for women drivers, real-time management via internet connectivity, pre-booking options for parking slots, and pre-paid cards. The Society for Promotion of IT in Chandigarh (SPIC) has been proposed to provide the software backbone.
Additionally, officials said discussions are ongoing regarding data protection measures, a reworked fee structure, revenue-sharing models, and inclusion of GST and stamp duties in the financial framework.
With the General House session just days away, the outcome of Tuesday’s meeting is expected to shape the future of one of the city’s most debated urban mobility initiatives.
