The Bombay High Court on Thursday sought the response of State of Maharashtra and Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) on a public interest litigation (PIL) petition to allow parking of vehicles under bridges and flyovers when alternative public parking spaces are not available within 200 meters of such bridges and flyovers.
A division bench of Acting Chief Justice SV Gangapurwala and Justice Sandeep Marne issued notice to State and BMC on the plea which said that parking facilities and proper safety measures should be provided for parking below bridges and flyovers in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR).
The petition by Pradeep Bais filed through advocate Uday Warunjikar stated that spaces below bridges and flyovers were used as parking spaces until 2008.
In August 2009, the State government passed an order under the Maharashtra Regional Town Planning (MRTP) putting restrictions on parking under bridges and flyovers in case of availability of alternative parking spaces within 200 metres.
However, it did not put any restrictions on parking under bridges and flyovers in the event alternative parking was not available within 200 metres.
The petitioner filed a representation to the State government to allow parking under bridges and flyovers; however, he received no response to the same.
Hence, he filed the present petition to implement the order of 2009 in letter and spirit by allowing parking in vacant spaces under bridges and flyovers when there are no alternative parking spaces within 200 metres.
Bais stated that the MMR is a region characterised by an ever-increasing and over-expanding population each day.
“The petitioner submits that MMR region is one such region where horizontal development has already exhausted and now there is scope only for vertical development m additional FSI. In such circumstances, the authorities should not waste the huge spaces those are lying vacant beneath the bridges. The smart usage of these open spaces lying vacant for car parking is truly what is supposed to be as a smart city. Therefore, intervention of this Court is necessary,” the plea pointed out.
Bais also contended that a proper parking facility will increase revenue to government exchequer from parking fees as well as tenders and government contracts.