Parade Ground Parking: MCD Begins Work

Tuesday , Feb 16, 2010

Work on multi-level underground parking site at Parade Ground started amidst protest from Shri Dharmik Ramlila committee which organises the Ramlila at the grounds every year.

The committee is demanding that construction of the parking lot should only begin after the Ramlila this year. MCD, however, said that it would continue with construction of the parking lot as it would help decongest Chandni Chowk. Said press and information director Deep Mathur: ``We will continue with our work at Parade Ground. We are only using half of the ground for construction of the parking site. The parking lot should be ready in 16 months. This will benefit the people of Chandni Chowk as it is a commercial hub and also a lot of tourists visit the area. About 1,000 cars can be parked here. While 650 will be accommodated underground, 250 will be parked at ground level.'' The project will cost Rs 50 crore and the area's trader associations support it.

Said Ravi Jain, of the Shir Dharmik Ramlila committee: ``We were given assurances by MCD officials that work on the parking lot would only start after the Ramlila this year. We would have then discussed the matter with MCD to see if building a multi-level parking at Parade Ground was required or not. The civic agency has converted every other ground in the area into a parking lot. Parking is already allowed at Gandhi Maidan and Dangal Maidan.''

MCD had zeroed in on Parade Ground after the underground multi-level parking lot they had to make at Shaheed Park hit a roadblock in the form of the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI).

Under fire from Delhi High Court for granting construction permission to various agencies within 100m of protected monuments, ASI had refused to give MCD permission for the project saying it was in the prohibited area of two centrally-protected monuments Khooni Darwaaza and Ferozeshah Kotla ruins. Though the parking plan was specifically meant for office-goers in Bahadurshah Zafar Marg, MCD shifted the site to Parade Ground near Chandni Chowk.

Original Article sourced from http://www.delhiscoop.com/story/2010/2/16/225135/024