Sindh govt scraps parking fees on all Karachi roads

KARACHI: The Sindh government has formally notified the abolition of all parking fees on public roads across Karachi, signalling a major policy shift in the city’s parking regulation framework.

The notification states that no government body under the Sindh administration — including the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation (KMC) — is permitted to levy parking charges on any public road within city limits.

Parking fees, the order clarifies, may now only be imposed in designated spaces such as commercial plazas, private plots, or specific zones officially allocated by local councils.

Any individual or organisation found charging citizens for parking on public roads will face strict legal action, the notification said.

The move followed a decision to abolish parking fees on 46 KMC-controlled roads implemented earlier this month.

"This decision has been taken in the public interest," said Karachi Mayor Barrister Murtaza Wahab in a statement in February announcing the decision, "[…] as the KMC is now standing on its own feet." He was referring to improvement in the financial situation of the metropolitan corporation.

He added that after achieving financial stability, the corporation does not need to collect Rs40-50 million via parking fees as it has more than Rs2 billion in its bank account.

Wahab had previously claimed that the KMC had earned a "record-breaking Rs2.3 billion revenue" in just seven months, witnessing a 300% increase in earnings while 751 development projects were in progress.