Pvt hospitals fill coffers with parking fee loot

Hyderabad: A section of reputed private hospital have found parking lots on their premises a profitable enterprise. But, the Greater Municipal Corporation (GHMC), which is supposed to curb such activities, seems to be clueless about how to deal with the problem.

Though GHMC Act 1955 Section 115 (40) clearly states “parking place or common area in a multi-storey commercial complex is a public space and nobody can claim absolute right over it to regulate and levy fees for parking vehicles. Many private hospitals across the city have been charging between Rs 20 and Rs 40 per hour. Some hospital managements are levying additional parking fee if those institutions are located in prime location.

T Sudheer, a 33-year-old private employee, who visited a reputed hospital at Banjara Hills, said “people visit hospital only when they are in distress. If the hospitals impose additional burden on the patients or their kin, it is cruel. We expect the hospital managements to show some humanity. It is the responsibility of hospitals to provide basic minimum facilities to the patients and their attendants. We have paying Rs 20 for parking four-wheeler for every visit to the hospital. This should be regularised by the government."

Patients described the hospitals charging parking fee as “rubbing salt into the wound of the suffering.” Phanider, 27-year-old, said, “Patients are kept waiting for long time as doctors have a hectic schedule. The hospital managements fleece patients by imposing hefty parking on them.”

“Many private hospitals do not have parking space and we are forced to park vehicles either on the roadside or on the footpaths. And if we do that our vehicles would be towed away by the traffic police”, said Kiran, a 30-year-old HR manager in a private firm.

The State government is yet to announce a new parking policy. Taking advantage of the delay in the government announcing the policy, a section of the city hospitals are out to make a fast buck.

An employee in a corporate hospital in Lakdikapul, on condition of anonymity, has revealed that the hospital management has been charging Rs 30 for parking in the first hour and Rs 10 for every additional hour thereafter.The GHMC officials are not aware of the rules that prohibit the multi-storey premises from collecting parking fee.

“We haven’t received any clarification from the government yet regarding the hospitals or commercial places charging parking fee. We are expecting a response in a couple of weeks.

But as of now, there is no clear rule whether the hospitals should or should not charge for the parking space,” said Baba Fasiuddin, Deputy Mayor.