Green Push by Petaling Jaya

A three-month free parking for new hybrid cars are among incentives announced at the tabling of Petaling Jaya City Council’s budget.

PETALING JAYA: Thinking of how to save on parking charges?

If you are living in Petaling Jaya, good news awaits you as the city council has decided to offer three-month free parking to those who opted to buy hybrid vehicles from car dealers here.

Car owners will be given a special pass for them to enjoy free parking. The incentive is for cars registered from Jan 1.

This is among the council's green incentives announced during the tabling of its budget for next year.

Continuing with its green efforts, the Petaling Jaya City Council (MBPJ) will also be spending a sum of RM100,000 to install energy-efficient LED lights at residential areas.

The lights will be used to brighten the back lanes. The cost of installing the lights, maintenance and replacement of faulty lights will be borne by the council.

PJ mayor Datuk Mohamad Roslan Sakiman said the council's 2012 budget, dubbed the "Budget for the People -- PJ Care", is aimed at improving the quality of life of PJ folk and its stakeholders by providing quality services and cost-effective spending.

For next year, the council is looking at a budget expenditure of RM281.1 million for both development and operational cost.

In line with its emphasis on people's budget, Roslan said the council would be offering a 50 per cent discount off the RM40 rental charged on the use of its hearse for Muslims and non-Muslims.

The council has also allocated an emergency fund of RM4 million to ensure better delivery services.

Roslan said the funds would be used as a backup for any council work which could not be completed or initiated due to the respective departments facing a lack of funds.

He hoped that in future, there would be no more public complaints about the council's failure to act swiftly because of financial constraints.

Meanwhile, a big portion of the PJ 2012 budget -- an estimated sum of RM57 million -- will be used for the management of the city's solid waste collection, cleansing services, recycling campaigns, garbage disposal and backup services.

The council has also allocated RM500,000 to buy new bins of various sizes which will be placed in housing areas.

About RM35 million has been budgeted for infrastructure maintenance including the resurfacing of residential roads, drainage upgrading for flood prone areas and refurbishing of community halls.

For urban development projects such as new public facilities, main roads and upgrading of street lights, the council will spend about RM20.8 million.

In line with the PJ Community Green Corridor commencing next year, it is estimated that a sum of RM10 million will be used for upgrading and upkeep of public parks, children playground, and open fields.

Source: Halim Said (NST)