After roads,Delhi govt seeks control over parking facilities

Delhi has over 499 major roads that are more than 60 feet in width. Besides ground-level parking areas,many multi-level underground parking facilities can be found along these roads.

Officials said transferring parking lots to the Delhi government would adversely affect MCD coffers. “The civic body earns a profit of nearly 135 crore from parking amenities. If they are handed over to the Delhi government,we will end up losing a lot of revenue,” a senior civic official said.

The MCD has other issues too. “The state wants the MCD to transfer all the parking lots to them. But there are several legalities attached to the issue. Most of the parking lots operators have a fixed contract with MCD,extending up to 3-4 years. So,we will have discuss legal issues first,considering that the parking lot operators may go to court against the decision,” Additional Commissioner Manish Gupta said.

Last year,three parking sites at Lajpat Nagar were taken over by the Delhi government,so they could be converted into automatic parking lots. However,the attempt foiled to take off and the parking sites were returned to the MCD.

According to officials,the law states that parking lots should come under the MCD’s jurisdiction. “The Delhi Corporation Act puts the right of traffic management and control with the civic administration. Parking amenities also have to come under the MCD’s ambit,” said M S A Khan,head of the MCD Parking department.