New Delhi: Delhi Metro’s parking lots may soon be handed over to the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) and the civic bodies. The Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) has taken an in-principle decision to execute the proposal, lieutenant governor Anil Baijal said, addressing the 23rd Foundation Day of the Delhi Metro.
Mr Baijal did not elaborate on the proposal, but sources said the final decision will be taken by authorities, including the Centre and the Delhi government, which hold equal equity in the DMRC.
“In the meeting yesterday, we had a preliminary discussion on parking spaces which are available with Delhi Metro. If they (DMRC) are not able to develop, we would like them to hand it over to other local bodies — the DDA or municipal corporations so that we could develop the parking spaces,” the lieutenant governor said.
He said the municipal corporations and the Central land-owning agency could take up the construction work of parking spaces once the final decision is taken by the DMRC. Out of 160 metro stations, there are 97 parking lots managed by the DMRC. The Delhi Metro operates on a network of 213 km across seven different corridors and 160 Metro stations.
“One is efficient last-mile connectivity, the paratransit system, and the second one is reasonable parking space at and near Metro stations,” Mr Anil Baijal said, adding that good traffic management should be in place at Metro stations.
The DMRC managing director Mangu Singh highlighted the various initiatives taken by Delhi Metro in the past year and said, “Last year has been a very satisfactory year, as far as operations are concerned. We are transporting about 28 lakh passengers with the help of about 3,100 train trips maintaining a punctuality of 99.97 per cent.”
At the function, the Chandni Chowk Metro station was adjudged the “Best Metro Station” and Shrikant, head station controller at Rajiv Chowk, received the “Metro Person of the year award”.
The Metro Woman of the Year Award, was given to Kumari Tara, station controller/train operator, Yamuna Bank Crew Control.
Besides them, 44 more employees from various departments were awarded for their meritorious performance. An employee from the Central Industrial Security Force was also awarded for his contribution towards maintaining security in the DMRC.
