The PMC general body on Tuesday postponed a decision on the much-debated pay-n-park scheme for two-wheelers on 15 roads of the city.
The scheme was first introduced in 2010 and was withdrawn the same year under pressure from civic groups and citizens. A proposal to reintroduce the scheme was pending with the standing committee for a long time last year. The standing committee took a call in November and forwarded it to the general body. The proposal came up for discussion in the general body on Tuesday, it was postponed on the demand of NCP corporators.
BJP, MNS and Shiv Sena corporators wanted the proposal scrapped because they said it is not in larger public interest. Senior leaders of Congress, who firstly supported the opposition, changed their mind and voted in favour of postponing a decision on the matter. But the party stood divided as several Congress corporators stuck to their stand on scrapping the proposal.
The proposal forwarded to the standing committee after an all party meeting states that, the tendency to park vehicles on roads is on the rise in the city because of insufficient parking space. It has resulted in frequent traffic congestion, accidents and slow traffic movement. As the central areas in the city have been developed as per the earlier development control rules, the existing parking facility is falling short. To curb parking on roads and facilitate smooth traffic, a pay-and-park system is a must.
The roads where the pay-and park scheme for two-wheelers is proposed to be introduced are FC Road, JM Road, Karve Road, Tilak Road, Laxmi Road, Bajirao Road, Shivaji Road, Modern College Road, Baner Road, Nehru Road, Paud Road, Ganeshkhind Road, Shastri Road, Babasaheb Ambedkar Road and Tarapore Road.
The PMC plans to charge Rs. 3 for two-wheelers and Rs. 5 for four wheelers as parking fee for an hour. While the opposition wanted the scheme to be scrapped, Congress and NCP decided to delay a decision.
Source: timesofindia, Jan’14
