New Delhi: In a bid to tackle the perennial problem of parking in the city, lieutenant-governor Anil Baijal on Wednesday directed the authorities to identify roads and commercial streets in the city as “No Tolerance Zone” to deal with the situation.
The L-G also called for differential parking charges depending upon the area and demand, rather than uniform parking charges in the entire MCD areas. The L-G also asked the agencies to incentivise the multilevel parking at various places viz-a-viz surface parking through a price incentivisation mechanism.
Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) was also asked to work out parking slots for para transit vehicles and underground parking for public convenience and last mile connectivity. The decisions were taken during a high-level meeting chaired by Mr Baijal. The meeting discussed parking policy in Delhi and issues relating to road cutting permissions.
Transport minister Satyendar Jain, chief secretary M.M. Kutty, commissioners of MCD, PWD secretary Ashwani Kumar and other senior officers from DMRC attended the meeting. “It was decided that roads and commercial streets will be identified as ‘No Tolerance Zone’ for parking in consultation with traffic the police and local bodies. Measures will be categorised into short term, medium term and long term for strict implementation,” an official said.
Under the “No Tolerance Zone” move, road discipline, parking and vehicle movement on particular road stretches are enforced strictly by concerned authorities including traffic police. Transport secretary Vikram Dev Dutt made a presentation on the draft parking policy in the meeting. It was observed that adequate authorised parking and enforcement are needed in Delhi and that roads should be categorised on the criteria of density, width and its connectivity.
“Digitised short stay parking for parking management solutions will be encouraged by MCDs, NDMC and DDA. MCDs and other agencies should strictly monitor contracts of parking lots,” the LG office said in a statement.
On road cutting permission issue, Mr Baijal has directed that all agencies which have underground services and networks, should ensure that no damage is done to facilities of other agencies when they are carrying out work. “The details of the road cutting schedules should be brought into public domain. LG has also directed that Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) should also be put in place for online clearances and for restoration after road cutting permissions,” the statement stated.
It also stated that contractors should be charged for time overruns, if projects are not completed in time. “Strict monitoring before digging and after digging of roads is a must. Periodic review of space utilised and restricted for road cuttings should be done,” it added. The LG directed that comments of all stakeholders will be obtained within one month for implementation thereafter.
