Developers, activists welcome new parking policy

Chief minister Prithviraj Chavan's approval for the new parking policy that restricts the number of parking slots as well as contributes to the civic exchequer has been welcomed by both developers and housing activists.

Chief minister Prithviraj Chavan's approval for the new parking policy that restricts the number of parking slots as well as contributes to the civic exchequer has been welcomed by both developers and housing activists.

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The old policy was scrapped as it gave largesse to the builders to go up vertically and put heavy load on the exiting infrastructure.

However, the new amended policy, proposed by municipal commissioner Subodh Kumar, suggested various changes such as restricting the parking lots to ground plus four and sharing of revenue. Also, the government and civic body would decide where they were most needed.

Talking to Hindustan Times, Paras Gundecha, president, Maharashtra Chambers of Housing Industry (MCHI), contented that the new policy was a good one. "We have no objections to sharing our income with the civic corporation in case of extra floor space index," said Gundecha.

In the past, the MCHI had been critical of the policy on grounds that a select group of builders were being favoured and had even complained to Chavan to ensure uniformity.

Housing activist Vinod Sampat said the rules were good per se, but care needed to be taken to ensure they were not bent.

"Proper monitoring should be done," said Sampat, adding that the premium should be exclusively used for improving the corresponding infrastructure.