Activists to Zagade: implement free parking norm in PMC limits too

In their letter to Zagade,advocate Vandana Chavan of Alert,Vijay Kumbhar of Surajaya Sangharsh Samiti and Sandeep Khardekar of Creative Foundation said for years builders operating in the jurisdition of the Pune Municipal Corporation have been selling parking space which is against the norms. “Parking area is not included when the FSI is given to a builder. The builders get it for free,yet they resort to selling parking space,” the activists said. They said even the high court has said that builders cannot sell parking space. “There are some petitions pending in the Supreme Court regarding this matter. But the fact is that civic body has the powers to make necessary changes in the development control rules which should be in the favour of the consumers,” Kumbhar told this paper.

The activists said under the Maharashtra Ownership Flats (Amendment) Act,2008,builders can sell flats only as per carpet area. “Those things the civic body does not consider for levying taxes cannot be sold by the builders,” they said while appealing to the commissioner to make necessary changes in the development control rules to stop builders from selling the parking space.

Kumbhar said at various places in the city like malls,multiplexes,hospitals,citizens have to pay heavy parking fee which is again not as per the norms. “Since the civic body does not consider parking area in the building construction activity,the owners of such places cannot charge parking fees. We therefore request you to make necessary rules about parking fees since the PMC in an RTI reply has already conceded that there no rules framed so far,” said Kumbhar,Chavan and Khardekar in the letter. On Monday,Zagade told this paper that he needed five-six days before announcing his decision about the free parking space. “We are studying the legal implications…we need five to six days,” Zagade said when pointed out that PCMC has already implemented the free parking space norm in its jurisdiction.

Meanwhile,Asheesh Sharma who is under pressure from the powerful builders lobby on Tuesday said his administration was studying the legal aspects after the builders brought to his notice the Supreme Court stay in the matter. At an urgent meeting held at PCMC headquarters on Monday,the builders under the aegis of the Promoters and Builders Association of Pune tried to impress upon Sharma administration that since there was a Supreme Court stay,the PCMC cannot make it mandatory for builders to provide free parking space.

This led to confusion among PCMC officials with Sharma showing signs of cracking under pressure from the builders. However,legal experts have already said Sharma need not fear any contempt of court since the Bombay high court has not issued any directive to the PCMC to implement its judgement. Jayant Kulkarni,a well-known legal expert dealing with housing problems,said the high court judgement was in relation to a case and the PCMC was merely relying on HC order. “Since Sharma has taken a decision to protect the consumers interest,he should stand by it. There is nothing wrong in it,it’s all legal,” Kulkarni said.

The free parking space issue came to light following a series of reports in The Indian Express since last month. On last Thursday,the Sharma administration issued the order and minutes later PCMC deputy city engineer Vasant Kachi handed over a copy to this paper. Sharma’s decision has drawn praise from citizens and activists both in Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad.

Aseem Gupta,municipal commissioner of Nagpur Municipal Corporation,told this paper that he will bring this fact to the notice of the builders so that they adhere to the norms. Even officials of Aurangabad Municipal Corporation said they would incorporate the norms into their rules and regulations.