Multilevel facilities stay unused in Delhi as people park for free on road

An assessment by the SC-appointed body says several multilevel car parks (MLCPs) remain largely underutilised. This is because there is no parking charge on roads, footpaths and parks, whereas the MLCPs charge money.

Delhi needs at least 382 hectares every year – 2.8 times the size of IIT Delhi campus – just to park its newly registered cars, even though the multilevel car parks remain underutilised, the Supreme Court-appointed body Environment Pollution (Prevention and Control) Authority (EPCA) has said in its report.

Delhi annually needs an additional 382 hectares of area to park cars every year. (HT File / Photo used for representational purpose)

Taking 2016-17 figures for car registration in Delhi (roughly 1.66 lakh new cars were registered) as a benchmark, Delhi annually needs an additional 382 hectares of area to park cars every year.

“For a sense of scale, this is roughly equivalent to 2.8 times the size of entire IIT Delhi campus. If two-wheelers are added, an additional 277 hectares of area is required every year,” stated EPCA’s report submitted to the apex court on Thursday.

An assessment by the SC-appointed body says several multilevel car parks (MLCPs) remain largely underutilised. This is because there is no parking charge on roads, footpaths and parks, whereas the MLCPs charge money.

“These parking lots remain underutilised as per information provided by South Delhi Municipal Corporation and this is because parking in residential areas is not regulated or priced. There are, therefore, no incentives to use the multilevel parking lots or to pay for these,” the EPCA report stated.

EPCA has already proposed introduction of differential and higher rates for parking additional cars in residential areas. The report says some of the resident welfare associations (RWA) s have started to demarcate parking lots inside the colonies for rational allocation to the residents in an organised manner to prevent chaos and conflicts.

“Several such examples have been brought to the notice of the EPCA, which municipalities can follow,” said Sunita Narain, member of EPCA.

In Anupam Apartment complex in Saket, the RWA charged monthly subscription based on the size of the flat and the number of cars owned. The association even has differential pricing for residents in middle floors.

In another apartment in Alaknanda, the first car is charged ₹150 per month and ₹1,000 for the second car as space is extremely limited. The second car charge is allowed only if space is available.

“It was found many residents are utilising the legal parking facilities either on surface or in MLCPs that the municipalities have created and are paying the notified fees. But this best practice and legal usage of parking facilities is being undercut by the unhindered availability of infinite free parking on public streets and roads,” said said Anumita Roy Chowdhury, Executive Director (Research and Advocacy) at Centre for Science and Environment.