Authorities shirking responsibility on parking issue: HC

Observing that authorities are passing on the buck to each other on the car parking issue in the city and other parts of Maharashtra, the Bombay High Court today directed the state government to set up a high-power committee to find a solution to the problem by March 4.
A bench of Justices Naresh Patil and Ajay Gadkari said the committee shall consist of principal secretaries of Urban Development Department and Law and Judiciary, chief of Mumbai Metropolitan Regional Development Authority, commissioner of Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation and joint commissioner of Police (traffic).
Parking has always been an issue in Mumbai and many other cities for the last 25 years and the nodal authorities have been passing on the buck to each other without resolving the problem, the bench noted while hearing a public interest litigation filed by activist Bhagwanji Riyani.

This is a serious issue and the authorities must find a solution by putting their heads together, the bench said.
The PIL said the number of vehicles had increased manifold and as a result they are parked on road sides in a careless manner. There was an urgent need to allot sufficient parking lots in the cities. Also, there should be a restriction on purchase of vehicles by individuals and law should be enacted to allow only one vehicle per person, it said.
Earlier, hearing the same petition, the court had suggested that the authorities should introduce a rule requiring a person registering purchase of his car to submit proof to the RTO that his housing society had allotted him parking space. In the absence of parking area, registration of vehicle should not be allowed, the court had observed.