The three municipal corporations, North, South, and East, are scheduled to go to polls on April 22.
The illegally run parking lots have long been a cause of concern but it seems the civic bodies have just now woken up to the issue, barely weeks ahead of the civic polls. The BJP-ruled municipal corporations in the city have decided to crack down on illegal parking mafia after receiving instructions from Lieutenant Governor (LG) Anil Baijal during an internal meeting earlier this week.
The three municipal corporations, North, South, and East, are scheduled to go to polls on April 22.
In a first, the North and East Corporations have been asked to form teams to take action against the illegally run parking sites in their area. South Corporation, too, plans to follow the suit. Besides cracking down on the mafia, the civic bodies will also promote multi-level parking facilities, which have not been a hit among users, so far.
According to senior officials, the unauthorised parking lots, besides being a nuisance to vehicle owners, also cause loss of revenue to the corporations. "The issue has been a priority. We, however, need the cooperation of the police to do away with these gangs. Strict action needs to be taken against them. The corporation has formed different teams headed by district commissioners," a senior official said.
He further said the first raid will be carried out in north Delhi's popular Bungalow Road and inner streets of Kamla Nagar. Despite the market housing a multi-level parking facility, surface parking is the norm. The market has a footfall of around 10,000 people on a daily basis, which increases further during weekends.
"We have asked district commissioners to take immediate action against the illegally operating parking sites and lodge FIR, whenever required. Illegal parking causes heavy traffic congestion in the area, leading to chaos," the official said.
Besides, the corporation has also roped in traffic police to conduct raids on a regular basis to impound vehicles parked in the 'no parking zones'. "There has been action in the past but the efforts have not been sustained. It is a serious issue and needs rigorous efforts from the corporation," said Rajesh Bhatia, Deputy Chairman, Standing Committee, North Corporation.
The meeting chaired by the Commissioner also pointed out that illegal construction and encroachment related activities increase during elections, and asked the teams to conduct raids in those cases as well.
"Since the model code of conduct for municipal elections 2017 has been put into force, some people may try to carry out unauthorised activities in the garb of elections, which should not be allowed," the official said.
Together, the three corporations have nine multi-level parking facilities while seven more have been proposed by the North and South Corporations. Most of these parkings, however, are massively under-utilised, with only 15-20 per cent of usage.
The deserted hi-tech parking lots, including Sarojini Nagar, Hauz Khas, and Munirka in south Delhi, Kamla Nagar and Model Town in north Delhi, make it evident that the concept has not been a hit with customers. Even the underground parking lots of the busy Connaught Place area, Palika Bazar and Shivaji Stadium parkings, have only 20 per cent utilisation.
The parking lots have been developed under the respective municipal corporations of Delhi on a public-private partnership (PPP) model.
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