BHUBANESWAR: Public anger over the decision of the police and civic authorities to ban roadside parking along several important thoroughfares in the capital city has begun to intensify with citizen’s bodies demanding immediate alternative arrangements or revocation of the order.
Bhubaneswar Unnayan Parishad (BUP), a local residents’ group, on Friday sought formation of a joint team involving Commissionerate Police, Bhubaneswar Development Authority (BDA), Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC), Residential Welfare Association (RWA) representatives, traffic experts and other stakeholders concerned to identify parking areas and make them operational before enforcing the no-parking zone along 21 stretches.
In a letter to the police commissioner, they alleged that the root cause of roadside parking was not indiscipline of citizens, but criminal negligence of the planning authorities, BDA and BMC, in ensuring proper parking facility while granting building plan approvals and occupancy certificate to malls, multi-storey commercial complexes, hotels, hospitals, coaching centres and high rise apartments.
“As per BDA (Planning and Building Standards) Regulations, 2008 (as amended) and BMC Building plan regulations, every commercial and institutional buildings above a certain size is mandatorily required to provide adequate on-site parking as per prescribed norms.
However, in 90 per cent of these structures including malls, hospitals, commercial buildings along Jayadev Vihar, Saheed Nagar, Patia, Chandrasekharpur, Nayapalli, Khandagiri and other areas have either completely encroached upon parking areas or have obtained approvals showing fictitious parking layouts,” the residents stated.
They demanded that the joint verification team should be formed within a week and complete its physical verification within 30 days.
The residents’ group also demanded necessary action against establishments that have violated parking norms within 45 days and provide adequate parking facilty in the identified stretches, especially in commercial zones like Bapuji Nagar, Ashok Nagar, Satya Nagar, Jayadev Vihar, Saheed Nagar, Patia and Khandagiri etc before taking any action against the commuters.
“In the absence of corrective measures, the Parishad will be constrained to approach the Orissa High Court by way of public interest litigation and also launch mass public awareness campaign against arbitrary penalties arising out of systematic failure of planning authorities,” said Parishad president Basudeb Bhatta.