As many as 13 multi-level parking lots under the north and south municipal corporations in New Delhi are lying vacant due to faulty designs, depriving car users of small mercies in a city whose roads are increasingly getting clogged with vehicles.
The Municipal Corporation of Delhi, which was trifurcated in 2012, had proposed 32 multi-level parking lots back in 2000.
Five of them are functional, 14 are still in the pipeline, while 13 are lying unused. One of the 13 car parks, a three-level parking in Hauz Khas, was inaugurated by the Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley before the MCD polls in 2012. The entry and exit points at the abandoned lots have flawed designs of entry and exit lanes, as well as the positioning of ramps, discouraging car users.
“The problem is particularly worse in the North Delhi Municipal Corporation (NDMC), as the empty coffers in this zone cannot afford making and remaking of the designs (of the parking lots). The best bet is to continue with the ones with faults,” said an official.
The Delhi government owes around Rs 2,000 crore to NDMC under the planned and non-planned expenditures.
“A majority of the primary schools and hospitals are under the NDMC. We do not make enough money to even out. Although we do get money from the Urban Ministry, the AAP government has withheld 50 per cent of it. We have not been able to pay salaries to our staff,” NDMC Mayor Ravinder Gupta said.
In case of South Delhi Municipal Corporation (SDMC), seven parking lots are not in use.