Illegal parking sites under MCD scanner for better traffic management

New Delhi: In a move aimed at improving traffic management and boosting revenue, Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) has decided to identify parking sites allegedly being operated illegally across the city.In an internal communication issued to all zonal deputy commissioners, MCD said it had been receiving complaints and reports from various sources regarding the unregulated and unauthorised functioning of parking sites in its areas -- by roads, on vacant land parcels and around markets.According to the communication, the civic body is seeking to bring such sites under a formal regulatory mechanism in the interest of effective traffic management. Officials said there was a “strong requirement” to control and regulate these parking sites, many of which were being run by people who had been collecting parking charges without authorisation.“We will identify all such unauthorised parking sites as they are not only causing traffic congestion but are also operating without any regulation. The zonal commissioners have been asked to conduct inspections and deploy cranes to remove vehicles and clear encroachments wherever required,” a senior official said.The remunerative project cell of MCD has already identified 44 such parking sites across various zones of the city, which are either being operated without permission or functioning free of charge despite their commercial utility, the document stated.The zonal deputy commissioners will also identify the land-owning agencies concerned, such as the public works department, Delhi Development Authority, Delhi Urban Shelter Improvement Board and National Highways Authority of India, on whose land such parking lots are being operated.The information gathered through the inspections will be used to develop an “effective parking management system” for public spaces, the communication stated. MCD is also exploring the possibility of regulating these sites on a revenue-sharing basis in coordination with the land-owning agencies.Officials have been asked to submit the information at the earliest.