MCD to take fresh look at parking plan for 15 areas

The Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) plans to launch a fresh survey in 15 localities to draft parking area management plans in order to streamline parking and remove congestion, senior civic officials aware of the development said on Monday.

These localities include Anand Lok, Aurobindo Marg, Geetanjali Enclave, Green Park Extension, Gulmohar Park, Safdarjung Development Area, Kailash Hills, Niti Bagh, and Panchsheel Enclave.

The parking area management plans were a crucial component of the Delhi Maintenance and Management of Parking Places Rules, which were notified in September 2019. The civic bodies that administered these areas conducted surveys to draw localised plans, but they were never implemented due to a lack of consensus between various stakeholders.

The Master Plan of Delhi 2021 envisaged the Parking Management District (PMD) Plan that was adapted by city planners as Parking Management Area Plan (PMAP). According to MPD 2021, parking management must be effectively used as a tool to reduce overall demand for parking space and the objective of PMAP is to provide comprehensive facilities for all modes including pedestrians, non-motorised transport, cycle tracks, vending zones, bus stops, public amenities in addition to on-street and off-street parking for private vehicles.

A senior MCD official explained that PMAP was supposed to provide area-specific solutions for parking management in residential and commercial areas. "The parking policy had authorised the erstwhile municipal corporations to make parking management area plans with neighbourhood specific solutions while ensuring rights of pedestrians, cyclists, emergency vehicles and vendors.

Most of these draft plans were made for south Delhi areas," the official added.