BMC cracks down on abandoned vehicles to free up parking space

The administration confiscated 782 abandoned vehicles, including 314 two-wheelers, 286 three-wheelers and 182 four-wheelers

Mumbai: Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has issued notices to 2,381 persons in a week for abandoning their vehicles on the street in a bid to free up parking space in the city. Upon receiving the notice, 379 people removed their vehicles from the site, while the administration confiscated 782 abandoned vehicles, including 314 two-wheelers, 286 three-wheelers and 182 four-wheelers.

Abandoned vehicles will be auctioned by the civic body after taking requisite permissions, the BMC statement said on Friday. (HT FILE)

Last week, BMC took up the task of clearing vehicles that have been parked on the street or left abandoned for a long time. Since March 2020, BMC had handed over the task of taking action against abandoned vehicles to the traffic police, due to the additional burden of Covid-19 duties on the civic staff.

“The civic body has started receiving a lot of complaints from residents and commuters about such vehicles parked on the side of streets for a long time; especially since all restrictions around Covid-19 have been lifted and traffic has resumed to normal. This obstructs traffic, reduce the usable width of the carriageway of the road, and take up parking space that can be made available for other vehicles,” the BMC said in a statement.

Following this, BMC administrator and municipal commissioner Iqbal Singh Chahal directed the administration to take action against abandoned vehicles, and a meeting was conducted between the encroachment department, assistant commissioners of all 24 wards, and the traffic police to discuss the course of action.

Abandoned vehicles will be auctioned by the civic body after taking requisite permissions, the BMC statement said on Friday.

The administration has directed all assistant commissioners to take permission to auction the confiscated vehicles within 15 days so that space can be freed up for future action as well. Vehicles are auctioned if owners do not respond to the notices issued by the civic body.