Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation’s (AMC) mega operation to decongest city roads with stricter rules will now also include cancellation of Building Use (BU) permission or sealing of a unit if parking space is not provided as per the General Development Control Regulations (GDCR).
Acting on the directions of the Chief Minister’s Office (CMO) issued on December 16 to “address” the traffic problem in the city, joint teams of NHAI, Railways, AMC, Traffic Police and Roads and Buildings departments are conducting surveys in various areas of the city, based on which short-term and long-term measures will be implemented.
“A survey has been completed by two private agencies in the North-West and West zones and a preliminary report has been prepared. Based on which the first phase will be implemented on the five selected routes. These roads are Sindhu Bhawan Road, CG Road, Vijay Crossroads till Nehru Nagar, Iskcon till Ambli and Rajpath Club till Rangoli Road. This campaign will continue uninterruptedly in the coming days to bring a permanent solution to the traffic problem,” Deputy Municipal Commissioner (Estate) Riddhesh Raval told The Indian Express.
This is in addition to the Gujarat High Court’s directions issued for addressing traffic menace in roads such as SG Highway, Judges Bungalow Road, Ghatlodia till High Court, CG Road, Stadium till CG Road till Navrangpura, Naranpura to Ankur crossroads to Shastrinagar and Vadaj till Dadhichi Bridge till Dilli Darwaja.
“The action after notices will include cancellation of Building Use (BU) permission or sealing of a unit if parking space is not provided as per the GDCR (General Development Control Regulations). These rules already exist. Now we are focussed on the implementation,” Raval told The Indian Express.
He said that as per the directions of the High Court, a survey was conducted by the AMC on 64 routes, keeping in mind the complaints that commercial units, malls, religious places and educational institutions have their own parking spaces but are not using them.
“Based on this survey, notices have been sent to 378 units – including commercial, office, education, hospital, clubs, malls, restaurants – on 76 roads which do not allow vehicles to park inside despite having their own parking spaces. Strict action will be taken against the units that do not comply with the notice in the coming time. The Estate Department implemented an online challan and digital penalty system using technology,” Raval added.
“No Parking”, “No Vending Zone” and vehicle parking related signage have been installed for discipline in parking. An official announcement regarding free and paid parking will be made by the AMC soon.
AMC plans to create parking facilities for approximately 38,000 two-wheelers and 21,000 four-wheelers in the coming time.
“The traffic system has improved significantly due to intensive work being done on the routes suggested by the Gujarat State Legal Authority for the last one and a half months,” Raval said.
In order to solve the traffic problem due to increasing vehicle pressure and mismanagement on public roads, AMC has undertaken a city-wide mega drive.
From April 1 to December 22, administrative charges and fines worth Rs 4.02 crore have been collected. In addition, 58,000 illegal hoardings and 14,000 lorries have been removed.
“Around 91 km of public roads have been opened by the AMC from April to December 22 across the seven zones. These include removal of a total of 4092 – 1027 kutcha and 3065 pucca structures – from the Town Planning roads,” Riddhesh Raval told The Indian Express.
Further adding that the drive is not limited to the western parts of the city but also the eastern parts, Raval said Bhadra Chowk and Lal Darwaza-Bhadra area have been permanently decongested.
In the East Zone, after a joint visit by the AMC and the Railway Department, the plan to construct railway overbridges at Vatva, Punitnagar and Maninagar railway crossings will be taken forward keeping in mind the increasing traffic pressure.
“A survey is being conducted by a joint team of AMC, Metro and public transport bodies regarding parking space at each metro station. AMC has implemented a strategy based on five pillars – Engineering, Enforcement, Encouragement, Education and Evaluation – for a permanent solution to the traffic problem. In which, currently, intensive work is being done by AMC in three shifts – morning, evening and night – on the issue of pressure and parking,” Raval said.