Deadline ends, NMC yet to start on-street pay-and-park

Nagpur: Even a month after the traffic police’s nod for a month-long trial, Nagpur Municipal Corporation (NMC) is yet to start on-street pay-and-park at eight places in the city. NMC’s traffic department took almost a month to reply to the query on parking arrangements raised by DCP (traffic).
Though NMC had sought permission to start on-street pay-and-park on 10 stretches, the DCP (traffic) had rejected the proposal for two stretches — Bhole Petrol Pump Square to Law College Square, and near Kamal Chowk, due to proposed flyovers.
In its reply, NMC admitted that the construction of flyover on Amravati Road has already been started and it too will not start on-street pay-and-park here. “The work of flyover on Indora Chowk-Pachpaoli Road will take more time. So it was suggested to the traffic office to reconsider its decision,” it stated.
To a query on how it decided the on-street pay-and-park, NMC replied that parking places had been demarcated after a survey carried out by Urban Mass Transport Corporation (UMTC).
NMC, however, skipped a query on whether commercial, residential and educational complexes situated on the selected nine roads have parking lots or not. Sources said most of the establishments on these roads had violated sanctioned plans by misusing parking space.
Additional municipal commissioner Deepak Kumar Meena said NMC had identified 75 on-street parking places across the city. As a pilot project, municipal commissioner Radhakrishnan B had asked to start on-street pay-and-park at 10 places. NMC has also issued tender to mark roads for proper parking of vehicles.
After NMC gets the nod of the Regional Transport Authority (RTA), it will start pay-and-park schemes at these places. The decision to start on-street pay-and-park at all the 75 locations will be taken only after the pilot project gets a good response and leads to streamlining of traffic on congested city roads.
Recently, city NGO Janmanch had criticized NMC and city traffic police for lifting parked vehicles from city roads after the fine for parking vehicles in no-parking zones was revised to Rs760 for two-wheelers and Rs1,020 for four-wheelers. “First create parking places, then penalize motorists for wrong parking,” said NGO president Rajeev Jagtap.