Coming soon: Parking space rider for vehicle purchase

​New Delhi: For all those who were happy to hear the Government plans on Smart Cities all these days and particularly those who are residents of the cities selected by the Urban Development Ministry here is a twist to the story.

Want to reside in a Smart City and also plan to own a car or a two-wheeler, then better own your parking lot. Or, at least, lease one. Otherwise you cannot be the proud owner of a vehicle.

That is, if the latest amendment to the parking policies gets pushed through by Union Minister for Road Transport Nitin Gadkari, who has taken up the same in right earnest egged on by Union Minister of Urban Development M Venkaiah Naidu.

This could come as a shocker to the tenants and owners of flats who normally do not possess such a facility and park their vehicles in public places along the streets in cities and towns.

The measure is aimed at curbing private transport too. Naidu has been reiterating that an extensive public transport system is being planned in Smart Cities to curb pollution and regulate traffic.

The backdrop for the same is the National Urban Transport Policy (NUTP) which laid down key principles on the usage of prime land in urban areas and the necessity to encourage public transport.

The Environment Pollution Control Authority too had submitted to the Supreme Court sometime back that the provision of parking for personal motorised vehicles cannot be considered as a matter of public good.

Individual user of personal vehicle should pay for the use of the space for parking and user pay principle should be applied, it said and the Apex court too concurred with the suggestions.