The Hindu 13.09.2010
No action taken against unauthorised parking lots
City Bureau
- PHOTO: R.K. RADHAKRISHNAN 
SPACE MISUSED: A board demarcates space under a flyover for vehicles of visitors coming to a nearby restaurant, in Chennai on Sunday.
CHENNAI: Despite a Madras High Court directive issued last Tuesday to the Chennai Corporation and the police to initiate action against those who cordon off public space for private parking, violations continue to go unnoticed.
On Sunday, even parking facilities that the Corporation accepted as ‘unauthorised' in its affidavit to the court continued to function.
At least six locations in the city have unauthorised private parking facilities, says L.N. Praghasham, Corporation counsel. In other locations, the Corporation had allowed private organisations to utilise public space for parking after collecting a licence fee of Rs.450 per car per month. The High Court has held this to be ‘illegal.'
Outside a private hospital in Gandhinagar, Adyar, a place, just 20 meters from a Corporation parking area, has been cordoned off for two-wheeler parking. At a private hospital on Greams Road, a parking attendant said the Corporation provided space on Greams Lane for four-wheeler parking. The road that leads to a cultural centre at Alwarpet had around seven cars and many two-wheelers parked. The watchman at the centre said space in front of the centre and a stretch a little away are part of the allocated parking space for visitors.
Mayor M. Subramanian said a review would be conducted this week and “appropriate action will be taken against commercial establishments.”
