Mismanaged implementation, traffic caused by Metro III diversion and lack of NOCs from traffic department stall civic body's ambitious project in SoBo
The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation's (BMC) ambitious pilot project in south Mumbai for their parking policy has hit the brakes even before it began. Because of the same, they can't work their way into implementing it well, or collecting the proposed revenue from the parking charges.
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The diversion created for the ongoing Metro III work has become another hurdle for implementation of the policy. Pic/Bipin Kokate
In addition to this, the civic body is facing an additional hurdle because of the traffic created by the diversion for the ongoing Metro III construction.
No reply
After the state government lifted the ban from the policy in February, BMC prepared a plan for the pilot project to be implemented in residential parking areas in the A Ward (Colaba, Churchgate, CST, Kalaghoda, Cuffe Parade).
The civic body then sent 38 No Objection Certificate (NOC) applications from residents of the A Ward seeking permission to park their vehicles outside the roads between 8 pm to 8 am, as per the new norms. However, the traffic police have not said yes or no to them since the last five months, claim BMC officials.
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A senior civic official said, "Last month, when there was a discussion on the applications, officials from the traffic police told us they would survey and scrutinise all of them, after which they can reply to the NOCs. They said this is because the diversion created for the Metro-related works has led to traffic jams in south Mumbai and if vehicles were parked on the streets [according to the policy], it would create more chaos."
Seeking answers
"Many roads have been changed into one ways. Also, at many places, half of the roads are taken in for the Metro work. If parking were allowed on the sides of the roads, it would be very difficult to manage traffic. As per the policy, the residents will be given permission to park their vehicles from 8 pm to 8 am," the official said.
Also read: Mumbai: Contractors refuse to green-light BMC's new parking plan
The traffic department is also seeking answers for other issues with the policy, such as consequences for those residents who park in the spot beyond the time limit or park during someone else's time. They also want to know which authority will resolve disputes arising out of these issues.
Assistant municipal commissioner of A Ward, Kiran Dighavkar confirmed they are yet to get any reply from the traffic department over the NOCs or the applications, but refused to give details. mid-day also reached out to joint commissioner of police (traffic) Amitesh Kumar but he remained unavailable for comment.
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