Traffic police, civic bodies must be more responsible

May 8, 2013

Hindustan Times
New Delhi, May 08, 2013

Expert Speak- An interview with Bhure Lal, Chairman , Supreme Court-Appointed

Enviormental Pollution (Prevention and Control ) Authority

What do you think could be the solution to the parking mess?
We need to limit the number of vehicles, or else the consequences will be grim. No development is possible if mobility is zero. Decongesting roads is of utmost importance and strengthening public transport is the

only solution. We need to discourage use of private vehicles by implementing stricter norms. But till then, we need to ensure that illegal parking lots are converted into legal ones, so that people are not fleeced.

The three corporations of Delhi didn’t raise parking charges. How costly will this move be in the longer run?
Parking rates hikes are meant to discourage people from using cars. A person needs parking spots at three places – home, roads and markets. If parking becomes more expensive, people will think of alternative options. Use of cars needs to be controlled.

A number of pavements are being used to park vehicles even inside colonies. Not only does it affect traffic movement, but it also makes pedestrians’ life difficult.

This is being done in gross violation of traffic rules. The Delhi Police is also discouraging this and the violators should be fined heavily. We should take a lesson from the Pune Municipality that fined Rs. 2,000 for any vehicle found parked on a footpath.

The parking mafia has been encroaching upon the city’s prime public land in the garb of parking lots. Why has no action been taken against them yet?
Once such a parking site is identified, we inform the traffic police and the civic bodies about them. We have constantly been directing them to take action against these people. Land is scarce and if we allow the land mafia to take over, what will happen to the city? The traffic police and civic agencies need to be more responsible.

Source- http://www.hindustantimes.com/