MUMBAI: Traffic snarls which contribute to air pollution, and often lead to instances of road rage, across the Mumbai Metropolitan Region as well as tier-2 cities like Nagpur and Pune, have prompted the state government to contemplate a plan where four-wheeler owners must prove owning designated parking spots or areas, both public and private, at the time of registering new vehicles. Termed โcertified parking areaโ (CPA), buyers will have to furnish a CPA certificate at the time of registering their vehicles.
The CPA certificate will be issued by the BMC and certified by the transport department.
The proposal drafted by state transport commissioner, Vivek Bhimanwar, was presented to chief minister Devendra Fadnavis on December 30, as part of the governmentโs 100-day transformation drive. People in the know have confirmed to HT that Fadnavis has given his nod and asked the department to fine-tune the proposal.
Why the move
The first meeting was held on Wednesday. A day after, Bhimanwar said that such a move was imperative given the โburst of vehicles (including two- and three-wheelers) on the roads in recent timesโ which have led to parking issues and road congestion. (See box.) Officials from the traffic department, said anonymously, as the government is investing in upgrading public transport in the cities, a restriction on private vehicles was crucial. These restrictions, the report stated, will be introduced in a phased manner, after public and private parking lots are identified by local authorities.
Stakeholders involved in the process will be cooperative societies, housing ministry, PWD, urban development department, civic bodies, transport experts, MMRDA, scholars etc.
The inspiration
CPA will be implemented in a staggered approach, which will go alongside upgrading public transport. The department said it was taking a leaf out of policies that exist in places like London, Tokyo, New York, Zurich and Singapore. โThis is how the Japanese model functions which we are trying to incorporate. Every country or city has its own model which is followed to curtail vehicular congestion on the road. We are also looking to apply something akin to a congestion fee,โ said an official.
Earlier this month New York City implemented a congestion pricing scheme; a similar model is followed by Singapore and London as well. The department also studied other models such as auctioning of vehicle number plates that happens in China, which helps limit the inflow of vehicles during peak hours; and having time slots for vehicles, with others parking in the periphery, as followed in Zurich.
Implementation plan
To set the ball rolling, the department has proposed that local authorities identify private and public parking lots in the cities. โIn addition to that the cooperation department will be asked to resolve parking disputed within housing societies; and if need be, the transport department and local authorities should identify new possibilities of parking lots to bridge the gap between the demand and supply. The transport department would be the nodal authority for the implementation of the policy,โ the proposal stated.
The policy will be applicable to new vehicles, although cars older than 15 years will have to produce a CPA certificate when owners seek extension obtaining fitness certificates. Two- and three-wheelers are exempt from the norm.
Implementing such a rule will not be without challenges. To overcome that, there needs to be a robust public transport network to accommodate the vehicular traffic that will be displaced, said an official. โIt may lead to a backlash and may be projected as an anti-poor policy. It may also lead to disputes over limited public parking facilities,โ the proposal underlined.
A V Shenoy, noted transport expert, said while this will relieve traffic congestion and parking issues, it should be implemented after discussions with all stakeholders. โIn 2018, then municipal commissioner Pravin Pardeshi had rolled out the policy of charging motorists for parking on the roads. It faced resistance in island city because the old buildings constructed in 1990s were not designed to accommodate increasing number of cars. Similar issues may crop up while implementing this policy as well,โ he said.
Officials from the transport department also said the policy may face flak as it appears to be builder-friendly. โIt gives room for them to manipulate buyers and minting money by selling parking lots. Instead of putting the onus on builders for providing the parking free of cost with the flats, the onus is put on the flat owners in the policy. Also, old buildings with inadequate parking facilities will be pushed for mandatory redevelopment,โ said an official.
Bhimanwar said, โThis is a concept plan. We have prepared it as a part of the 100-days plan. We will be speaking to all the stakeholders in the state, different bodies and associations; alongside, we will also create an email ID and social media handles for citizens who can give valuable suggestions and comments.โ
