MCG looks for sites to set up multi-level parking lot

Sadar Bazar has shops lining both sides of the road and also has several stalls encroaching on the main road

The Municipal Corporation of Gurugram (MCG) is looking at sites for constructing a multi-level parking lot near Sadar Bazaar, officials revealed.

MCG officials also said that they could enforce restrictions on the entry of four-wheelers to Sadar Bazaar once the multi-level parking lot is complete. (Parveen Kumar/HT PHOTO)

Despite building a miniature model multi-level parking structure two years ago at its Civil Lines office, the MCG has failed to initiate the multi level parking project across the city where parking is a major problem.

Sadar Bazaar is heavily congested with shops located on both sides of the roads and littered with stalls encroaching on the main road, which makes it near impossible for motorists to find a parking space.

MCG officials said they are starting the procedure for looking at possible sites for constructing a multi-level parking near Sadar Bazaar.

“We are going to commence inspecting sites for building a multi-level parking lot. It will be located near Sadar Bazaar and will cater to the parking needs of the area,” MCG commissioner V Umashankar said.

MCG officials also said that they could enforce restrictions on the entry of four-wheelers to Sadar Bazaar during peak hours and only allow e-rickshaws, running on solar power, to ply in the area once the multi-level parking lot is complete.

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The civic officials said that they are planning on implementing the project on a public-private partnership (PPP) model and a concessionaire will be selected through a tender process.

Earlier, the MCG had sent a proposal for a multi-level parking project at Kaman Sarai located near Sadar Bazaar to the urban local bodies (ULB) department in December 2015.

However, the MCG commissioner said that the site was scrapped after it was not found to be feasible.

Although the MCG has been planning on building multi-level parking facility since 2009 and had shortlisted sites at Kaman Sarai, Huda City Centre Metro station, Rajiv Chowk, Sadar Bazaar and DLF Phase 3, it failed to get approval from the ULB despite multiple proposals.

To solve the parking crisis in the city, MCG, in August 2017, launched a collaborative project saying that 26 malls and commercial centres on the Mehrauli-Gurgaon (MG) Road, Golf Course Road and Sohna Road will offer free parking and will be exempted from paying property tax for their basements.