New plan to end parking woes at Khan Market

The multi-level parking project at Khan Market might soon take off. According to sources, the urban development ministry has asked the New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) to prepare a detailed proposal about the project.

The multi-level parking project at Khan Market might soon take off.

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According to sources, the urban development ministry has asked the New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) to prepare a detailed proposal about the project.

“The ministry has asked us to send them a proposal about the construction of a multi-level parking at Khan Market. Though we had proposed to build the parking lot many years ago, the ministry has finally told us to send them the plan now,” said a senior NDMC official.

According to the civic body they have started working on the proposal, which will be sent to the Land and Development Office (L&DO) for its consideration.

The NDMC had sought the ministry’s permission to whom the land belongs. The civic agency had also written a letter to the ministry asking them for the possession of the land.

The parking problem in the market has compounded with the government allowing residential flats on the upper floor to be used as commercial establishments after paying conversion charges to the government.

Apart from the 150 shops, there were 74 flats on the top floors that have now started operating as beauty parlours and restaurants among others.

The land was identified by the civic body after consultation with the market traders’ association.

The traders of Khan Market have been demanding a multi-level parking lot for quite sometime now as the land within the market has proved to be inadequate to accommodate the growing number of vehicles entering the market.

The civic agency has also been planning to convert the entire market into a pedestrian-friendly zone once the multi-level parking project is complete.

On Saturday the Environment Pollution Control Authority (EPCA) had directed the NDMC to charge parking fees from visitors. Currently, the Khan Market traders’ association provides free parking facility to shoppers. The civic agency will soon be calling for fresh tenders and allot it to a contractor for running it.