BSZ parking: Last week on, this week off

Thursday, Dec 31, 2009

What was described as the only solution to the parking mess on Bahardur Shah Zafar Marg — an underground multi-level parking lot to be built by MCD at Shaheed Park — has hit a roadblock. Under fire from Delhi High Court for allowing construction activities within 100 metres of protected monuments, Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) has refused to give permission to MCD, saying it was in the prohibited area of two centrally-protected monuments — Khooni Darwaza and Ferozeshah Kotla ruins.

Though the parking was meant to cater to Bahadur Shah Zafar Marg, MCD has now shifted the site to Parade Ground near Chandni Chowk. How this will help office-goers on Bahadurshah Zafar Marg, by any stretch of imagination, is not known. MCD commissioner K S Mehra told TOI: ''We will continue to try for permission from ASI and revive the original parking plan at Shaheed Park. There has to be a policy change.''

That's a remote possibility for now. A senior ASI official said: ''MCD approached us for permission five months back and the case was referred to an expert advisory committee. The committee asked MCD to submit drawings of the plan showing the location of all ASI monuments in the vicinity to ensure they were not harmed. The area is archaeologically rich and there has been evidence of ancient structures buried there. MCD was supposed to refer back to the committee with proper drawings documenting all the centrally-protected monuments. But since this committee has been dissolved after a Delhi HIgh Court order, there is no one to give them permission now.''

The high court had pulled up ASI for granting permission within 100 metres of such monuments for development work, resulting in ASI withdrawing permission to PWD for Barapullah Nallah.

Last week MCD officials had said that work on the parking lot at Shaheed Park was going to start soon.

But the standing committee agenda tabled on Wednesday clearly mentioned ''change of plan of site from Shaheed Park to Parade Ground, Chandni Chowk area''. Tenders for the proposed Shaheed Park parking lot have been floated, and while the standing committee on Wednesday gave in-principle approval to the plan, officials said shifting the project plan to Parade Ground was only an interim measure. ''The parking plan will go to the House now,'' said a senior MCD official.It was to be one of the biggest parking lot under a park in the city and would have accommodated about 700 vehicles.

Around 1,500 vehicles are parked in the Bahadurshah Zafar Marg area daily with space for only around 500 in the authorised parking lots, according to sources. Around 24 such parking sites were supposed to be constructed under the green cover in Delhi before Commonwealth Games 2010 but work has begun on only four.NEW DELHI: This New Year's eve, an increasing number of Delhiites are opting to hail a cab or designate a driver to take them home after spirited year-end bashes. With rising awareness about the ills of drunken driving and strict prosecution by the traffic police in the past year, radio cab operators and chauffeur services say advance bookings for the early hours of January 1 have touched an all-time high.

''There is no point driving back in the fog, especially after some drinks. I have already made an online booking for a cab for 3am on January 1,'' said Shashwat Khanna of Defence Colony, who is headed to a friend's farm on MG Road.

Original news source http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/delhi/Party-safe-Delhiites-rush-to-book-cabs/articleshow/5397308.cms