Underground parking on Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation's mind again

Written By Amit Srivastava | Updated: Aug 14, 2019, 06:05 AM IST

Picture for representation

As per the proposal, open plots, recreational grounds, playgrounds, gardens, and open plots can be used for developing parking lots.

At a time when the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has failed to take back 27 open plots from different organisations given for maintenance, the civic body has moved ahead with a proposal to give open spaces for underground parking across the city.

The Improvement Committee of BMC passed a proposal on Tuesday to frame a policy which will allow using open plots for multilayer underground parking. Now, the proposal will be sent to the state government for approval.

As per the proposal, open plots, recreational grounds, playgrounds, gardens, and open plots can be used for developing parking lots.

The underground parking lots will be developed by private parties, civic administration will not bear the cost. "The developer will get transfer of development right (TDR) at any other place of their choice as per the law," said Sadanad Parab, chairman of Improvement Committee.

Failed Projects

In 2016, the BMC had planned to develop two underground parking lots which were supposed to make available around 10,000 sq ft more space for parking. The proposal was not financially viable and are still on paper

Parab said that the civic body will get the parking lot and it can be used for parking. "There is a dearth of parking spaces in the city, using open plots for underground parking will help address the issue," said Parab.

The nitty-gritty of the proposal will be prepared later. "The proposal will require a go-ahead from the state government," said Parab. As per a provision in Development Plan 2034, except for five open plots, BMC can develop underground parking at any other open plots, recreational ground, playground, and gardens, he added.

In 2016, the BMC had planned to develop underground parking space in Mumbai Central and Bandra. However, the proposal was not financially viable and are still on paper.