‘City can create parking space for maximum of 3 lakh vehicles’

Corpn. Commissioner assures HC that pavements will be free of encroachments

At present, the city has the capacity to park only 12,000 vehicles on the street, says Commissioner.

Greater Chennai Corporation Commissioner G. Prakash on Tuesday told the Madras High Court that though there were around 54 lakh two-wheelers and 11.75 lakh four-wheelers in the city, it had the potential to develop on street facilities for parking a maximum of 1.5 lakh vehicles and off street parking of another 1.5 lakh vehicles at any given point of time.

The Commissioner told a Division Bench of Justices M. Sathyanarayanan and N. Seshasayee that 65 locations in the city had been identified for creation of vehicle parking space and that a multi-level parking lot, along with some commercial space, for parking 1,400 vehicles had been planned in the first phase at Broadway.

He said, at present, the city had the capacity to park only 12,000 vehicles on the street.

The submissions were made during the hearing of a public interest litigation petition filed by 60-year-old chartered accountant Vandana Zachariah of Kilpauk here insisting upon proper maintenance of all pavements across the city without letting them being used as vehicle parking lots or getting encroached by shopkeepers and hawkers.

Tie-up for maintenance

On being summoned to the court to explain steps taken by the civic body to address the problems highlighted by the litigant, the Commissioner said the Corporation had decided to tie up with a private agency which shall ensure that the newly-laid pavements under the Centre’s Smart City project in Pondy Bazaar at T. Nagar here were maintained well.

The agency would work in close coordination with the Corporation as well as the police authorities in ensuring that there were no encroachments or parking of vehicles on pavements. After studying the efficacy of the move, the scheme of engaging the services of such private agencies would be extended across the city, he said.

Enumeration completed

In so far as regulating the hawkers in the city was concerned, the Commissioner told the Bench that enumeration of vendors in all 15 zones of the Corporation had been completed.

He said it would take a year for full implementation of the Street Vendors (Protection of Livelihood and Regulation of Street Vending) Act of 2014, after designating vending and no-vending zones.

The Corporation had decided to begin with regulating the hawkers on the Marina and Elliot’s beaches in the first phase. In so far as a temple right opposite to the High Court campus on the road margin of Armenian Street was concerned, the official said it was a clear encroachment and steps would be taken to demolish it.

Since the electricity connection of the temple was used for running a juice shop near it, the Corporation had requested Tangedco to disconnect power supply, he said.

After recording his submissions, the judges directed him to ensure that pavements were not used for parking vehicles and file a status report by December 18.