Freedom Park parking: BBMP slashes reserve price by 50%

Determined to get the multi-level car parking facility at Freedom Park operational, the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) has slashed the reserve price by more than 50 per cent, giving in to the demands of bidders.

While the BBMP had proposed Rs 4.5 crore as the annual reserved price, the bidders had pointed out that the facility may not see heavy footfall and suggested that the BBMP bring it down to Rs 2 crore. Subsequent to this, six tender calls by the BBMP went unanswered.

Though the BBMP officials had earlier defended the move and stated that they had arrived at the Rs 4.5-crore figure after studying parking charges in the surrounding areas and vehicle density, sources said they had to tweak the conditions to get the facility running.

“We tried various options available from revenue sharing model to parking ban in surrounding areas. However, none of the tenders received a response from the bidders. During the pre-bid meetings, the bidders expressed concerns over the reserve price and the operation period. Based on the inputs, a decision was taken,” a senior BBMP official said.

“The decision was made after considering the capital investment the bidders need to invest to set up the smart parking solutions. Also, we have insisted on a revenue sharing model and the BBMP will benefit from the new norms,” another senior BBMP official defended the civic body’s move.

The BBMP has also increased the operation period from five years to 10 years as suggested by the bidders. The new prices now stand at Rs 1.8 crore per year for the first five years followed by an annual increase of close to 10 per cent.

Citizen activists wondered if the BBMP had done a detailed study of the needs in the area. “There might be a requirement for a parking facility in the area. But a facility of this magnitude was not necessary considering the traffic movement in this area. A feasibility study would have revealed it,” said Vinay Sreenivasa, who also works with Alternative Law Forum.

He added that the authorities should instead work towards encouraging the use of public transport. The parking facility spread across three floors can house 556 four-wheelers and 445 two-wheeler vehicles. The work on the Rs 80-crore project, which started in 2017, missed multiple deadlines and was finally completed in November 2021.