Remedy to parking mess lies at home
Create basement parking, or leave space around the house. Otherwise, be ready to pay monthly fee to civic bodies to park your car. Neelam Pandey reports.
For years, residential colonies have had a free hand when it came to parking. But not any more. Civic authorities have now come up with a new policy chiefly for residential areas, and it is likely to come into effect soon.
Parking problems have compounded in the city's colonies: service roads are crammed with cars; every house now is home to five to six families, each of which may have one or more cars.
The new policy will make stilt parking compulsory in every house. And those who don't have space to park vehicles inside their homes will have to pay a monthly fee to the municipal corporation. Those who violate the rules will be fined Rs 600 for a day.
"We have asked the state government to notify the new policy. It makes setbacks mandatory for every home which should be used for parking.
Right now, setbacks have been converted into rooms. Also stilt parking (basement) should be made mandatory," said Bhure Lal, chairman of the Supreme Court-appointed Environment Pollution (Prevention and Control) Authority.
"If all cars cannot be accommodated within the premises, the owner will have to pay a monthly charge to the municipal corporation. Or, it could be linked to their annual property tax payment too," added Lal.
Senior officials say people are buying cars left, right and centre, without giving a thought to limited parking space. The unified MCD had made an attempt to ensure those constructing new houses make arrangements for parking their vehicles inside their homes. But it was only partially successful.
The South Delhi Municipal Corporation (SDMC) is now planning to carry out a survey of buildings to find out where the setbacks have been converted into rooms. "We are trying to provide incentives to people which includes stilt parking area not being counted in the FAR (floor area ratio), so that the total area on which construction can take place is not reduced," said Subhash Arya, south Delhi municipal corporation's leader of the house.
With no parking policies governing residential colonies of Delhi, shortage of space has become more acute. "While residents can use public transport to commute, private vehicles have to be parked inside the colonies at the end of the day," said a senior official. In the absence of parking facilities such as multi-level or underground parkings, cars have to be parked on colony roads, leaving little space for pedestrians or emergency vehicles.
"A policy needs to be formulated to discourage purchase of cars when a resident's home has no parking space. We also need to promote self-financing schemes for construction of multi-level parkings," said a senior official.
