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ASI’s objections delay three parking projects
There seems to be no end to the city's parking woes.
There seems to be no end to the city's parking woes.
Out of the three new multi-level automatic parking lots that were to come up in the New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) area before the Commonwealth Games, not even one is ready.
To make things worse, the much-publicised, multi-level parking lot on Kasturba Gandhi (KG) Marg might not take off at all, according to sources.
The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) has still not granted approval to the KG Marg parking lot, even though the NDMC has provided the ASI all the approvals required for granting permission.
While two multi-level parking lots were supposed to come up at Baba Kharak Singh (BKS) Marg and KG Marg, the other one was to be constructed in Sarojini Nagar.
The ASI had refused to grant permission to the NDMC for the proposed automated multi-level parking lot at KG Marg, as it falls within 300 metres of a centrally-protected monument - Agrasen Ki Baoli.
Besides, ASI had raised objections to the parking site's height too.
"We had got all relevant clearances from concerned agencies, including the Delhi Urban Arts Commission (DUAC). The digging work had also begun,” said a senior NDMC official.
“But after the government passed an amendment, envisaging a total ban on construction in the prohibited area of ASI-protected monuments, the ASI has now asked us to stop construction work," the official added.
After completion, the 6,219-sq ft parking lot was to hold 1,582 cars.
"In view of the recent amendment to the Act, we have not given permission for the multi-level parking on KG Marg, as it falls within 300 metres of the ASI-protected Agrasen Ki Baoli," said a senior ASI official.
As per the amendment, a National Monument Authority is to be formed, which would give requisite permissions.
The NDMC is now worried that the project might be scrapped, as the ASI will take a final decision on the matter.
"We have been continuously asking for permission to go ahead with the construction but nothing has come about," said Anand Tiwari, NDMC spokesperson.
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