Parking projects hang fire, Solan residents feel the heat

Ambika Sharma

Solan, December 21

The expansion of parking lots has failed to keep up pace with the exponential rise in the number of vehicles in Solan city despite the fact that residents are forced to bear monetary penalty worth lakhs every year for parking violations.

Trying to bring funds

Efforts are afoot to bring funds for the new parking lots in Solan city. Land has been identified near Thodo Ground and a detailed project report is being prepared, after which efforts will be made to seek funds from the state government. Zaffar Iqbal, Solan MC Commissioner

Though some new parking projects were conceived by the Municipal Corporation (MC) a few years ago, they could not see the light of day due to the paucity of funds.

Figures secured from the Police Department reveal that 12,862 traffic challans were issued in Solan this year for idle parking. Figures also reveal that nearly 25 per cent of the challans issued in Solan pertain to parking violations. Each offence forces an offender to shell out at least Rs 500. A penalty of Rs 64.31 lakh has been collected this year for idle parking in the city.

Little has been done by local MLA DR Shandil to bring funds for the two projects for the last decade.

The railway road parking project, meant for 102 vehicles, was conceived in 2008. Though bids were invited for the project on a ‘build, operate and transfer’ basis in 2008, only a portion was completed in 2018 and the construction of its second phase is yet to begin due to the scarcity of funds. A sum of Rs 55 lakh is required to complete the multi-storey parking project.

Another multi-level parking project was conceived at the old bus stand, which involved the transfer of Army land. A parking lot for 156 vehicles was supposed to be created on three floors, along with the creation of a commercial space.

This project has remained a non-starter despite the site being ideally located in the city. The civic body is supposed to create a concrete road connecting the national highway from Kather bypass to the Army establishment. Its estimated cost has been pegged at around Rs 65 lakh. The non-availability of funds has put the transfer of land on hold and the project has been hanging fire for years.