Thiruvananthapuram: Faced with public outcry, Thiruvananthapuram Corporation has cancelled a controversial contract that allowed a private hotel in the city to use a main arterial road as a parking space.

The development came following a report submitted by the Public Works Department (PWD) which termed the contract between the Corporation and the hotel invalid.

Public Works minister P A Muhammad Riyas lashed out at the Corporation administrators for their ignorance. The road comes under the jurisdiction of PWD.

The hotel owner and the Corporation secretary had entered into an agreement that allotted a part of the road as parking space for a fee of Rs 5,000 a month.

The same section of the road was previously used by the public for parking their vehicles for a nominal fee of Rs 10. It is this space that was handed over to a private party, thus inciting the public's anger.

This decision was taken by the Traffic Advisory Committee, chaired by Thiruvananthapuram Mayor Arya Rajendran, on June 13.

However, neither the Local Self-Governance Department (LSGD) nor the Urban Affairs Department has taken any action against the Corporation. Since the June 13 meeting, the Corporation had met on seven occasions. The matter was not discussed in either of them, sources said.

The arterial MG Road in the state capital is skirted by posh hotels on either side. It has also come to light that the security guards of these hotels restrain traffic on the road to allow the flow of vehicles in and out of these hotels. The inaction of the Corporation, the LSGD, and the police on this matter has also drawn flak.