DRAFT PARKING POLICY OF DELHI GOVT : SUGGESTIONS

DRAFT PARKING POLICY OF DELHI GOVT : SUGGESTIONS

12th July, 2017

Special Commissioner Transport

Room No. 208, Second Floor,

Transport Department, GNCT of Delhi,

5/9 Underhill Road, Delhi-110054.

Dear Sir,

You can decide and Fix any parking charges for the parking of vehicles in the Markets, Commercial places, multilevel parking, to de - congest the roads and to control the pollution.

But you should never allow any Day, and / or Night parking charges from the residents for parking their own vehicles outside their own homes. Please note as below in this regard:

1.  Please note, for every sale of all such vehicles Govt has already earned a huge share in VAT, EXCISE, Registration charges, Road Tax as well the service tax on the insurance policies of these vehicles, and the Income tax from the genuine buyers. They are already earning a lot on the sale of Petrol and Diesel for all these vehicles. Even after the GST regime, they still have a huge share out of the 28% levied on vehicles.

2.  It’s sad and shocking that now Govt is eying the parked vehicles of the residents, outside their own home. They are absolutely wrong in saying that residents are using Free of charge space for parking their own vehicles, outside their own homes.

3.  When the colonies were developed years ago, prices of plots were decided on the basis of the size of inner roads in that area. The posh localities had wide inner lanes and therefore cost of plots was on the higher side. The middle / upper middle colonies had a bit smaller roads and therefore cost of plots was lesser than the posh localities. Whereas, the lower colonies had narrow lanes, and hence the cost of plots was also on the lower side.

4.  Now after 40 – 50 years, if Govt says that these colonies are using the public land Free of cost, THEY ARE ABSOLUTELY WRONG, as we have already paid the price of such inner lanes via the purchase price of our residential plots. Do you think that developers of these colonies were that much fool to offer inner lanes free of cost, causing huge losses.

5.  Moreover, there is no traffic in the inner lanes, except in the commercial areas, and no one is degrading the pedestrian environment in any way. Instead, it’s the policies of the Governments that degrade everything to levy a charge later on.

6.  Sometime Emergency vehicles face some problem while entering the inner lane, and it must be given a serious thought that how Govt can purchase such emergency vehicles that can easily enter the narrow inner lanes. But how do they think that by charging the parking charges, way for the emergency vehicles will be opened automatically ?

7.  Instead of restricting the sale of new vehicles in Delhi, Govt is now eying to earn more by way of HUGE PARKING Charges on all the vehicles parked by residents, outside their home.

8. The problem has erupted as  Govt has not formed any  vehicular policy for the sale and purchase of Vehicles. Everyone is free to buy any number of vehicles as Govt is GETTING HUGE SUMS BY WAY OF VAT, EXCISE, ROAD TAX,  SERVICE TAX and, GST NOW of 28% and that too after paying Income Tax. Why don’t they attach the vehicles with the Pan Card to check and control the sales of vehicles ?

9.  A typical vehicle stays parked 95 per cent of the time. A 2006 study by the Central Road Research Institute in New Delhi estimate that of the 8,760 hours in a year, an average car’s steering time is only 400 hours. This means it is driven for only about an hour a day. In Delhi this may be 3 to 4 hours a day. It clearly means that while parked at home, these vehicles for the 95% of time are not contributing to any Congestion or pollution.

Therefore, Govt must concentrate on the 5% time of these vehicles while they are either congesting the roads or polluting the environment and hence must levy hefty charges and penalties so that residents are forced to leave them in the parking itself.

It will automatically discourage the sale of new vehicles, though Govt may be against this policy as it will impact its own kitty. 

Therefore we are absolutely against the imposition of any parking charges from the residents, for the parked vehicles outside their home as it will lead to unnecessary harassment and chaos.

Thanks & with best regards,

B S Vohra

President,

East Delhi RWAs Joint Front

http://www.rwabhagidari.com/

Suggestions on the Draft Parking Policy of Delhi Govt : Anil Sood

Please refer to the advertisement inviting suggestions on draft parking policy for Capital City of Delhi.

At the outset I have serious apprehensions about the enforceability of the Draft Policy being prepared in view of the multiplicity of the authorities and lack of competence with the Department.

It is a matter of record that  the Transport Department of GNCT of Delhi has collected huge amounts every year towards one time parking charges from vehicles being registered every year towards construction/development of parkings in the Capital City that was transferred to Municipal Corporation of Delhi. However, till date we are absolutely clueless about the purpose for which said amount has been spent.

It is also matter of record the permits for Commercial Vehicles are granted on the basis of declaration by  applicant to the effect that the owner has parking space.

However, most of the Municipal parkings are occupied by such Commercial operators, instead of parking at declared space that eats away the parking space created for the visitors.

Apart from this despite Supreme Court Orders in IA No.13029/85 dated 20-11-1997, 10-12-1997 and 16-12-1997, based on affidavits filed by Transport Department, Delhi Police and Municipal Authorities that they would ensure that the extreme left of the road shall be earmarked for Bus Lane and shall not be allowed to be encroached upon.

The fact remains that the Municipal Authorities and Delhi Traffic Police have allowed and auctioned parkings on Bus Lane. Leave alone this, even the Chartered Busses  and tempos can be found parked in Bus Lane at night.

Further, it is also matter of record that both the Delhi Police and Municipal Authorities have failed to rein in the Car Dealers from encroaching upon the service lanes and foot paths all around the city. 

Traffic Police has also granted permits to Taxi Stands allowing parking on Foot Paths. 

Therefore, we have serious apprehensions on the whole exercise that is being done, without enforcing the existing provisions of parking created, while allowing multistoried complexes all around Delhi  that have been sold by the Builders and converted into shops.

First and foremost requirement is to  enforce the existing parking provisions that have been violated with impunity by one and all.

Thereafter the following steps need to be initiated without any delay:-

(a) Stop registration of vehicles till the Tour and Taxi Operators , Stage carriage bus operators and taxi stands shift to the declared space by them while applying for the prermits;

(b) Restore the parking space  that the Builders who have sold the as shops or offices;

(c) Remove the parkings from Bus bays, foot paths and service lanes and roads by the residents who have covered the parking space within buildings and park vehicles on roads

(d) Obtain the details from MCD the details of amount of one time parking charges transferred by Transport Department to MCD;

(e) Put in place a policy that till the time applicant provides certificate of possessing the parking space;

(f) Restrain the commercial entities to use the roads as parking space;

(g) Provide details of  space identified by Transport Department for developing parkings;

(h) Transport Department required about 11000 Buses way back in 2004 and till date it could not possess more than 5000 buses including cluster busses that violate all the laws on the roads. Therefore, please share the plan to achieve and acquire the required number of busses so as t encourage use  of public transport by the citizens;

(i) The Intermediate public transport system has collapsed as the TSR and Taxi drivers refuse to ply by meter and till date despite possessing ;'Khullar Committee Report dating back to 2002 wherein it was admitted that 80% of TSR are owned by Financial Cartel and corrective steps have not been taken at all.

(j) I had submitted detailed presentation on introducing technology driven solutions for enforcing laws instead  of posting Cops to chase the offenders and challan, or by hiding behind trees or poles to nab offenders, which has multiplied the corruption levels. These suggestions have not found favour till date;

(h) Sale of number plate to buyer - there is an urgent need to dispense with fresh registration everytime by owner of vehicle, which is root cause of corruption and the transport department can never have the real data of vehicles. Once a number plate is sold to any buyer. Once he/she sells the vehicle, such vehicle must be remove the vehicle from that plate and should be entered in the number plate owned by the buyer intending to buy the vehicle. This would create real time data of vehicle in the city, that would help in assessing the parking space requirement.

Further, before finalising the policy an opportunity of personal hearing may be granted to me.

In view of  the complexity of the issue and multiplicity of the authorities involved, I am marking copy of this mail to Hon'ble Lt. Governor, Delhi who is head of Delhi Police, DDA and UTTIPEC to look into the issues involved and bring all the authorities under one umbrella.

Anil Sood

Hony President - CHETNA

Suggestions on Draft Parking Policy in Delhi - Rajiv Kakria

DATED: 12-07-2017

To

Special Commissioner Transport

Room No. 208, Second Floor,

Transport Department, GNCT of Delhi,

5/9 Underhill Road, Delhi-110054.

Subject:- Response / Suggestions on Draft Parking Policy in Delhi

Preamble: On the street people think ...... all Such Policies are made MORE FOR REVENUE GENERATION for the Government  ........ THAN TO OFFER ANY SOLUTION to the Problem created in the first place due to GOVERNMENT APATHY AND NON IMPLEMENTATION of dully laid out Rules and Laws .......

........ Please look at previous attempts at giving Parking Solutions ...... Charging ONE TIME PARKING CESS and collection of CONVERSION CHARGES UNDER MPD-2021 ......... Millions of Rupees have been collected without any accountability and no corresponding Parking Infrastructure developed in the past Decade.

Dear Sir,

This has reference to the Advertisement published on 12^th July 2017 in various News Papers on the above subject.Following are my suggestions .......

PREPARE A THREE YEAR PARKING ROAD MAP (Short, Medium and Long Term), with clear deadlines with the help of Data Collected and Additional Surveys:-

SHORT TERM:-

1. DIFFERENTIATE BETWEEN DYNAMIC AND DEAD PARKING – discourage people who use cars for Home-Office-Home travel, turning scarce Parking Space unproductive (Dead) for 8-14 hours. Shoppers and Visitors to offices for meetings etc occupy Parking Space (Dynamic) for a limited period of time and the same space is utilised multiple times, giving a fillip to Business.DEAD PARKING should be discouraged and made prohibitive ..... DYNAMIC PARKING Rates should be of 15 Minute Pulse, to encourage people to conclude business promptly and save money.
2. PARKING FEE BASED ON SIZE OF CAR – To encourage use of small cars Parking Fee should be charged based on length of car, as one BMW occupies twice as much space as an I10.

3. INTRODUCE POINT TO POINT AC CHARTERED/SHUTTLE BUSSES – Care should be taken that Office goers are not inconvenienced and transport BEFITTING THEIR STATURE be made available at reasonable rates. People use Personal Transport out of compulsion due to lack of COMFORTABLE, SAFE & SURE TRANSPORT.
4. STOP FLEECING BY AUTO/ TAXIS AND SURGE PRICING BY UBER / OLA: Autos have been notorious for Refusals and Overcharging. Now Uber and Ola are also fleecing hapless commuters, charging 1.5X to 3.9X SURGE PRICING. If citizens can be fined Rs. 2000/- then Service providers should also be penalised for Malpractice. INTRODUCE UNIFORM PRICING.
5. ENFORCE LANE DISCIPLINE – Traffic Police should be instructed to enforce Lane Discipline and man Traffic Lights instead of hiding behind Trees to net offenders and pocket bribes.
6. REMOVE BOTTLE NECKS ON ROADS – Potholes; Encroachments/Vendors; Parking on Roads; Religious Places; Trees; Defunct Electricity Poles etc. create congestion and slows the traffic.

MEDIUM TERM:-

1. CREATE HALTING ZONES FOR AUTOS, GRAMIN SEVAS, TAXIS ETC – Traffic Jams are often noticed near Bus Stops/Metro Stations, Traffic Signals, Market/Hospital Entrances, Street Corners etc as these modes of transport bunch up at such spots usurping one or more lanes.
2. IMPROVE LAST MILE CONNECTIVITY  – This proposal has been in the Pipeline for so long that it seems like a Pipedream, surely it is not as difficult as it seems.
3. PUT THE PUBLIC TRANSPORT INFRASTRUCTURE IN PLACE – Multiple modes of Public Transport adhering to a strict timetable be introduced in consultation with experts.

4. CREATE SUBWAYS AND PEDESTRIAN CROSSINGS – Lack of pedestrian facilities make the roads dangerous and are the cause for traffic snarls, when people give up private transport there will be manifold increase in Pedestrian Traffic, so this aspect MUST GET PRIORITY.

5. INSTALL NUMBER PLATE READING CCTVS - E-Chalaan traffic offenders and Trucks who enter the city before Entry Hours (which is Rampant)

LONG TERM:-

1. IMPROVE ROAD ENGINEERING AND POSITIONING OF BUS STOPS – Go anywhere in Delhi, most traffic jams occur at the start and end of a Flyover, due to merging traffic and positioning of Bus stops close to the Flyover.

2. EXPEDITE COURT CASES FOR ROAD WIDENING – Ring Road at Nariana is a good example of what can be achieved by acquiring land for road widening …… there are many such points all over Delhi that are stuck in Court Cases.

3. BAN PURCHASE OF VEHICLE (PRIVATE OR COMMERCIAL) WITHOUT PROOF OF PARKING SPACE – Introduce differential Fee Structure for parking on Public Land with a percentage increase for 2^nd, 3^rd or 4th Vehicle Registered per Dwelling Unit instead of per family member. A HIGH COURT RULING FOR HOUSING SOCIETY, RESTRICTING ONE PARKING SLOT PER DWELLING UNIT IS WORTH EMULATING FOR EQUITABLE USE OF PUBLIC SPACES. Fleet owners should create own Parking Zones instead of using up public spaces.

4. INTRODUCE FIRST CLASS COMPARTMENTS ON METRO – Airlines, Trains, Busses, Mumbai Suburban all have 1^st Class compartments.

5. VERIVICATION AND LINKING OF ADHAAR CARD OF DRIVER AND OWNER WITH VEHICLE RC- Safe, Secure and Sure availability of Transport irrespective of distance and area of travel will surely encourage citizens towards Public Transport. Today we cannot dream of allowing Ladies Travelling alone at night to or from Airport / Station etc.

6. PARKING FOR RESIDENTIAL AREAS- (A) MPD 2021 talks of parking as a composite entity ….. whereas the ground reality is that Parking in Commercial Areas and Residential Areas ought to be treated and addressed separately. While collecting Conversion Charges on account of additional floor and FAR for a residential plot …. parking has to be provided for the needs of the area residents ……. Whereas the only Parking Lots being planned are in Colony Markets and not for residents. (B) While framing ECS parking norms, Sangam Vihar and Greater Kailash ground realities must be kept in mind, one has more smaller cars while upscale colonies have SUVs Saloons ….. Can ECS norms be framed on same benchmarks ?????

SUGGESTION: (A) Areas should be identified with the help of RWAs ….. underground parking in large Colony Parks, Community Centres or Religious Places should be developed for Residential Parking. Parking lots should not be allowed on B.O.T. basis by allowing space for commercial activities. The expensive fully automated parking lots should be avoided to make the projects more viable …. Instead residents should be encouraged to form Co-operatives and allotted parking spaces on payment as is prevalent in Housing Societies. (B) Different ECS norms are needed for Sangam Vihar and Greater Kailash as bigger cars need more parking space as also larger manoeuvring area.

It seems, till now Governments and Municipalities were only interested in creating money making avenues for their Staff and Contractors. Citizens did not figure in their scheme of things ...... HOPE THIS TIME ROUND THE POLICY WILL BE HOLISTICALLY THOUGHT THROUGH. These are preliminary submissions, I request you to give me an opportunity to elaborate in person before a final decision is taken.

Warm Regards,

Rajiv Kakria

Member, GK-I, RWA

Committee to finalise Delhi parking policy formed : Hindustan Times

Approved by Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal on Thursday, the committee will have Anumita Roychowdhury from the Centre of Science and Environment and officials from the transport department and the Delhi Integrated Multi-modal Transit System (DIMTS) as its members.

The Delhi government has constituted a special committee to finalise Delhi’s parking policy.

The panel will be headed by Om Prakash Agarwal, an expert in urban mobility and CEO of World Resources Institute (WRI), India, and will have four other members.

“The special committee will analyse all comments received by the government on the draft parking policy for Delhi. They will prepare the final policy along with their own suggestions,” a government official said.

Approved by Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal on Thursday, the committee will have Anumita Roychowdhury from the Centre of Science and Environment and officials from the transport department and the Delhi Integrated Multi-modal Transit System (DIMTS) as its members.

Comments were sought on the policy, made public on June 15, from the public and other stakeholders till July 31. “The transport department has received 68 comments and some of them are well-researched ideas. Among those who contributed their ideas are residents welfare associations (RWAs), the municipal corporations, a few experts and a number of individuals,” the official added.

Agarwal, who will be the chairman of this committee, had chaired the US Transport Research Board’s Committee on Transportation in Developing Countries. He was also the head of India’s Urban Transport division, during which he authored India’s National Urban Transport Policy, a document that outlines the priorities for sustainable urban transport at all levels of government.

The government’s draft parking policy aims at rationlising charges in proportion to the price of land used. It proposes to charge more for day-time parking in residential areas and for peak hours in commercial areas.

Besides, to discourage people from buying multiple cars, it says road tax would be increased on an incremental basis for those who buy more than one car.

But the RWAs have questioned the government’s rationale to charge for every car parked in residential areas. RWAs HT spoke to collectively suggested that every household be allowed free parking for at least one car.

“Why charge for parking a car in front of one’s own house? At least one car must be allowed free of cost as one buys a vehicle for own use after paying a lot of taxes,” said BS Vohra of East Delhi RWAs Joint Front.

with thanks : HINDUSTAN TIMES : LINK

Blood Donation camp by Samarpit NGO

शर्म आनी चाहिए - वो आपका कोई चहेता होता, तो आप के दिल पर क्या बीतती ?

शर्म आनी चाहिए दिल्ली वालों को, कि तरक्की की आड़ मे इतने बे गैरत हो गए कि दिल्ली के एक व्यस्तम चौराहे पर, एक आक्सिडेंट विक्टिम, 12 घंटे तक दर्द से तड़प्ता रहा और किसी को भी नज़र ना आया ? उस पर किसी की भी नज़र नही पड़ी, सिवाय उन चोर उचाक्कों के, जो सिर्फ़ उसका बॅग, उसका फोन और उसका पर्स निकाल कर भाग गए. 

वो बंदा 12 घंटे तक उस जगह पर तड़प्ता रहा, सिसकता रहा, जिधर से LG साहिब का घर सिर्फ़ मिनटों के फ़ासले पर है, जिधर से ट्राउमा सेंटर भी सिर्फ़ कुछ मिनटों की दूरी पर है. जिधर से एक बड़ा अस्पताल सिर्फ़ कुछ कदमों की दूरी पर है. जिधर से हर पल ना जाने कितने लोग गुज़रते हैं. 

किसी को भी तरस नही आया कि अगर वो खुद उसको उठा कर अस्पताल नही ले जा सकते तो एक फोन ही कर देते. यक़ीनन शर्म आनी चाहिए दिल्ली वालों को, क्योंकि ऐसा आक्सिडेंट विक्टिम तो कोई भी हो सकता है, किधर भी हो सकता है. 

कल्पना कीजिए कि वो आपका कोई चहेता होता तो आप के दिल पर क्या बीतती ?

SHOCKING : Heartless Delhi: Punish those who look away when accident victims plead for help - Hindustan Times : An accident victim lay on a Delhi road with a broken spine for 12 hours but nobody came to his rescue. Standing by and doing nothing is no less a crime. It’s perhaps time that the Good Samaritan law have punitive provisions for ‘Bad Samaritans’ : LINK

B S Vohra
pic used with thanks to HT