Indian Express 23.11.2009
Parking proposals by Shimla MC get moving, finally
Following a recent High Court order to ease traffic snarls in Shimla, the traffic police have finally freed the roads along hospitals and schools from illegal parking.
In the absence of authorised vehicle parking places near these places, which are frequented by hundreds of commuters every day, the administration and the Shimla Municipal Corporation have, however, invited severe criticism from the public.
While there is no immediate solution in sight, the MC has been able to get through four of the six proposals it mooted six years ago to construct additional parking lots in Shimla. Two other proposals are still awaiting forest clearance.
The projects that remained mired in never-ending deliberations on the mode of construction and funding will now come up in public-private partnership. The chosen party will be entrusted with development, operation and maintenance of these four projects.
The Himachal Pradesh Industrial Development Board (HPIDB) has invited expressions of interest for parking lots near the Lift, below Indira Gandhi Medical College and Hospital, near RKMV College and near the Secretariat in Chotta Shimla.
A meeting will be held on December 4 where interested parties will be briefed about the projects. “The last date for submission of bids is December 19,” said HPIDB General Manager Anil Kapil. Feedback Ventures Private Limited will be the consultant.
The urban development department’s proposed parking sites at Darni Ka Bagicha on the national highway and at the entry point to Shimla to accommodate tourist rush in the peak months are, meanwhile, still under consideration.
At present, the authorised parking space in Shimla cannot accommodate more than 3,000 cars. To regulate parking in residential areas, the MC plants to get tough against the misuse of mandatory parking floors approved in the housing plans. These floors are being used for other purposes.
