Ghaziabad: Activists oppose plan for underground multi-level parking at Ambedkar Park

Ghaziabad: The activists have opposed the move for development of a multi-level parking at city’s Ambedkar Park which is located in the heart of major commercial centre of Navyug Market

Ghaziabad: The activists have opposed the move for development of a multi-level parking at city’s Ambedkar Park which is located in the heart of major commercial centre of Navyug Market. The officials of the Ghaziabad municipal-corporation said that the parking is proposed at a cost of ₹44 crore and meant for providing parking facility for about 235 cars.

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The Ambedkar Park is one of the biggest parks in the old Ghaziabad city and developed in times when the erstwhile Ghaziabad Improvement Trust (now Ghaziabad development authority (GDA)) developed the Navyug Market scheme and later handed it over to the corporation for maintenance.

The park is located close to the headquarters of the GDA and also of the municipal corporation.

The activists said that the proposed parking will mean change in nature of the park, and they will oppose the move and resort to legal recourse if the project goes through.

Councilor Rajendra Tyagi from ward 84 has also submitted a representation to the GDA while opposing the move and demanded that the facility should be developed elsewhere and not at the park.

“The construction on an area reserved for park alters and destroys the very character of the plan of the scheme. Parking will be a commercial activity at a green area. The municipal corporation is only a maintenance agency and is tasked under law to only maintain an area handed over to it by the authority. It cannot tamper with the plan or the character of the plan,” Tyagi, said.

“The power of amendment of a plan vests with the development authority and not with the municipal-corporation. So, it is demanded that the parking project should be shifted elsewhere, otherwise we will move court,” he added further.

Municipal-commissioner MS Tanwar said that they have sent a detailed project report of the project under the state smart city scheme to the state administration.

“We searched for many places and could not find desired land for the multi-level parking. Finally, we came across the big Ambedkar Park and proposed that part of its area will be used for our underground multi-level parking for about 235 cars. The project is pegged at ₹44 crore, and the surface area of the park will be restored in original form. We also plan to develop facilities like cafe etc,” Tanwar said.

“The DPR has been sent and we are waiting for its approval. The construction is proposed to be taken up by C&DS (construction and design services, a unit of UP Jal Nigam),” he added.

He added that keeping the sentiments of people in mind, the parking will be named as ‘Dr Bhimrao Ambedkar Multilevel Parking.’

Environmentalists said that even if the corporation has proposed underground parking, it will affect the very purpose of the park.

“A park helps recharge of vast quantities of groundwater and change in its nature will affect the recharge system and also the ecology. Further, the nature of parking will be commercial which will require change in the land use of the park. There is also an order of the UP government (in 2018) which says that construction of only 5% of the area of the park shall be allowed but only for purposes like public convenience, footpath etc,” said Akash Vashishtha, a city-based environmentalist and a lawyer.

The officials of the GDA said that they received representation from councillor Tyagi and waiting for a proposal for the parking from the corporation.

“If they are developing a basement parking, it does not alter land use and does not amount to change in land use. Further, the surface park should be maintained, and the map approval is also required to be cleared from the GDA. The ownership of the park is with GDA, and it handed it over to the corporation only for maintenance purpose. So, all modalities will be checked up once we receive a proposal for the parking at Ambedkar Park,” said Asheesh Shivpuri, chief architect and town planner of the Ghaziabad development authority.