The Supreme Court on Monday said it is not permitting anyone to charge people right now for parking vehicles in their residential areas while taking note of the government’s reservation on the Environment Pollution Control Authority’s suggestion in this regard.
A Bench comprising Justice Arun Mishra and Justice Deepak Gupta said this after the counsel appearing for the government expressed reservation over the EPCA suggestion that parking permits can be issued to the residents based on a monthly lump sum to be decided in consultation with the resident welfare association.
“We are not permitting anybody to charge anything from anybody right now,” the Bench told the counsel representing the Delhi government. The EPCA, in its report filed in the apex court, has said the South Delhi Municipal Corporation (SDMC) has initiated a pilot project on parking area management plan in Lajpat Nagar that encompasses both commercial area of central market and adjacent residential colonies there.
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Referring to the project, the EPCA has said it shows how the parking management area plan will be needed to be developed and then implemented in different zones and colonies of the city. “In addition, parking permits can be issued to the resident based on a monthly lump sum to be decided in consultation with the resident welfare association. These stickers will help to distinguish resident’s cars from the cars coming to commercial centres/market,” the EPCA has said in its report.
“The permits can also be used to restrict the numbers of vehicles by charging more or by not allowing residents to park addition cars in front of their houses but instead in the alternative sites,” the report said. Senior advocate Aparajita Singh, who is assisting the top court as an amicus curiae in pollution matter, told the bench that the three municipal corporations in the national Capital have agreed to implement the pilot project.