Parking Management Local Area Plan

Draft Parking Rules Delhi - URJA’s Stand on Parking in Residential Areas on the Transport  Minister demanding changes in Draft Parking rules. All this of course is in the course of pursuing heedless populist behavior at the cost of Delhi. 

For years urban planners and environmentalists, as well as responsible citizens, have asked for  Parking to be made both chargeable and expensive. This was reflected in the draft parking policy as well. The decisions of GNCTD to make parking free in residential areas as against chargeable in the draft parking policy is condemnable in no uncertain terms. 

The already beleaguered Municipalities will lose a large chunk of revenue for public services leading to overall reduced quality of life. It is understandable to see selfishness and greed for freebies at the cost of society by individual car owners, but it is disappointing to see the  Government of the Capital of a large economy (and State with the 2nd largest per capita income)  treat its citizens like slum dwellers or inhabitants of remote villages.

It is disappointing that the Municipal Corporations too would keep quiet because of this regressive politics. This short-term populism is no cause for celebration and blunts the capacity of the citizen in asking for better parking management. 

The very idea of demanding free parking on public land outside their house, in the colony, is prima facie an immoral proposition. The land does not belong to the house owner. The same set of people demand the Government to pay for maintenance of colony Parks outside their house and seek to park freely on footpaths. Land in Delhi is frightfully expensive and any free parking means that the car owner is being provided crores worth of land free of cost.