With the number of privately-owned vehicles in the Capital going up sharply every year, parking has become an issue at every major market place. To address this problem, Delhi got its first automated multi-level car parking lot at the Sarojini Nagar market on Thursday. Developed in public-private partnership mode between the New Delhi Municipal Council and DLF, the eight-level “South Square” car park was inaugurated jointly by Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit and Union Minister of Urban Development Kamal Nath. Built at an estimated cost of Rs.80 crore, the automated parking is expected to ease the parking woes of the busy Sarojini Nagar market with a parking capacity of 824 vehicles. Vehicles will be charged Rs.10 for the first two hours and then at Rs.10 for each subsequent hour, up to a maximum of Rs.40 for a day. The ground and first floors will house retail shops, restaurants and entertainment area and the second to eighth floors will be dedicated for parking.
The automated parking lot has car lifts, pallets and computerised control systems that would be operational round-the-clock. People can use the parking by buying a ‘car park card', drive into the facility and leave the car at the basement, from where it will be automatically taken to the parking area. The parking lot will go through full capacity trials during November and will be opened for public from December 1. “We hope the parking problems of the city will be solved by 2012 with the commissioning of the automated parking lot at Baba Kharak Singh Marg and the completion of under ground automated parking facility being constructed by DMRC [Delhi Metro Rail Corporation] near Delhi High Court,” said Ms. Dikshit . She further mentioned the need for a similar multi-level car parking at the busy Khan Market, and also hoped that the bottlenecks in the construction of an automated parking lot behind Hindustan Times building will be resolved soon.
Mr. Nath exhorted civic agencies like the NDMC and Municipal Corporation of Delhi to take up more projects on the PPP model. “Delhi has been facing the burden of development and progress and a parking facility like this is a much needed step…Challenges such as parking, roads, housing sewage, and water need to be tackled to increase the carrying capacity of Delhi,” he said. Mr. Nath added that the Delhi Master Plan will be revised next year and the “effort is to bring about changes based on the ground situation”. He further indicated that the Delhi Special Laws Provision Act will be extended with suitable modifications to safeguard the interests of genuine persons. Responding to Ms. Dikshit 's concerns about availability of land available for parking, Mr. Nath said his Ministry will facilitate “allotment of suitable plots of DDA and L&DO for construction of parking lots in Delhi”. “South Square” will have common space and circulation spaces like access corridors, lift lobby, lighting and fire fighting equipment and toilet facilities. The automated facility also provides state-of-the-art security check and car scanning technologies.
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