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HC questions Pune civic body’s move to stop malls from charging parking fees
Division bench of justice SC Dharmadhikari and justice Gautam Patel hearing the petition filed by a mall owner, who was issued a restraining notice by the PMC in June, warning him of penal action if the mall continued to collect parking charges from motorists for parking in its premises
In a major setback to the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC), the Bombay high court (HC) on Monday questioned the grounds on which it has restrained malls from charging parking fees. The HC held that as there is no law under the Maharashtra Regional Town Planning (MRTP) Act (MRTP) Act and the Maharashtra Municipal Corporation (MMC) Act that restrains private property holders from charging for services provided by them, PMC will have to initiate appropriate action as a part of the law, rather than just issuing a notice to the mall owners, asking them to refrain from collecting parking charges.
The division bench of justice SC Dharmadhikari and justice Gautam Patel was hearing the petition filed by a mall owner, who was issued a restraining notice by the PMC in June, warning him of penal action if the mall continued to collect parking charges from motorists for parking in its premises.
The PMC, through senior advocate Satish Talekar, informed the court that the developer had been given an additional floor space index (FSI) of 35% without any additional cost to construct the parking spaces. Thus, the mall was obliged to provide the parking services free of cost. Talekar further submitted that the mall owners had made parking into a business without getting proper licenses, and hence the corporation was right to restrain them from collecting the parking charges.
However, the bench was not convinced and said that perusal of the relevant acts and the conditions under which the malls were allowed additional FSI did not mention that they had to provide free parking. Hence, the PMC notice to the malls was not valid.
Talekar then submitted that the malls were defeating the purpose of the additional FSI, as motorists were unwilling to pay charges for parking and hence park on the roads, leading to traffic congestion.
The bench then directed PMC to file an affidavit enumerating the problems related to parking within two weeks. It further said that as there was no provision under law to restrain the malls from collecting parking charges, the PMC could cancel the occupancy and commencement certificates issued to the mall owners either for not complying with the relevant conditions under which they were provided the additional FSI or for running an illegal parking business.
