Several attempts by the GHMC towards developing off-street parking facilities in the city have fallen flat even before taking off.
Not long ago, the corporation had invited proposals from private plot owners for leasing out spaces for creating off-street parking facility. Multi-level parking complexes were also proposed to be developed in the plots, on public-private-partnership mode.
The decision for leasing open plots was taken after an estimation that over 50,000 vacant plots existed in the city, and the owners may as well make quick buck leasing out the properties than keep them idle.
However, the owners of the plots did not show much enthusiasm, and the corporation hardly received any applications for the proposal.
Soon followed the talk about developing ‘parking carousels’, which would first be installed at the GHMC headquarters and zonal offices on a pilot basis.
The carousel parking would save space by allowing parking of a minimum of 12 and a maximum of 48 cars in the space that would be occupied by two cars otherwise. A presentation towards this was made in Mayor Bonthu Ram Mohan’s chambers, who avidly supported the idea.
Agencies would be invited for Expression of Interest, and space would be provided on build-operate-transfer model, Mr. Ram Mohan had said.
Despite the potential of becoming the best alternative for locations such as GHMC head office and City Police Commissionerate where space is a problem, the proposal has not taken off for reasons best known to the authorities.
Other multi-level parking proposals at locations such as Khilwat Complex and Mothi Galli in the Old City too failed to evoke much response from the developers.
