Fee parking has already been started at 12 spots and the municipality plans to include more areas after Puja.

"The municipality earns Rs 40 lakh annually from the 12 parking zones," said Somenath Mukherjee, the finance officer of Bidhannagar Municipality. The parking rates for cars and bikes are Rs 5 and Rs 2 per hour, respectively.

Fee collection was started in a few spots in Salt Lake on an experimental basis in mid-2006.

This year, six more areas were added, including EC block, the swimming pool area in BF block and the stretch between Prasasan Bhavan and Mayukh Bhavan. Areas around City Centre, HSBC, Central Park, Unnayan Bhavan and AMRI Hospital also have fee parking.

The municipality is also planning to introduce night parking in residential areas. "We conducted a survey and found that around 550 households across Salt Lake park their vehicles on the road at night. We have decided to charge a monthly fee that can go up to Rs 1,000 for each car parked by the road. We plan to roll out the order after Puja," said Krishnamoy Ghosh, the executive engineer in charge of public health and engineers.