Hurdles in exchange of Army land delay key parking project in Solan

The key parking project at the old bus stand in Solan city has failed to take off even 17 years after it was conceived due to the non-exchange of defence land. The inordinate delay on the part of the defence authorities to part with the 2,309 sq m of land even years after 3,451 sq m of civil land was transferred to them has made the prospects of project uncertain.

Several rounds of talks have taken place between defence officials and the civil authorities but the issue has remained unresolved. The defence authorities did not give the possession of land to the Solan Municipal Corporation, the mutation of which was executed in favour of the latter years ago.

The need to create new parking lots has become more pressing as there has been an exponential growth in the number of vehicles in the city owing to a 12 per cent rise in the population in the last decade. The absence of adequate parking spaces is reflected in the increasing number of challans issued by the police for idle parking.

The data secured from the Police Department reveals that till August 31 this year, 13,265 challans were issued and a penalty of Rs 5.14 lakh was imposed on violators. The challans issued for idle parking far outnumber those issued for other offences like drunken driving, use of cellphone while driving and lacking requisite documents while driving, which are merely 15.74 per cent of the total violations. These offences attracted 2,088 challans for which the residents paid Rs 6.14 lakh as penalties.

The lion’s share of the challans was regarding idle parking, thus reflecting how the absence of parking has become a bane of vehicle owners and a money spinner for the police. However, what’s worrisome is that instead of using the penalty funds for building parking lots, it was simply credited to the state exchequer.

Ekta Kapta, Commissioner of the Solan Municipal Corporation, said, “Efforts are afoot to secure the exchange of Army land from the defence estate officer in Ambala. The matter is being persistently pursued at the highest level.”

She said that while a key parking project for 200 vehicles on the railway road was nearly complete, a smaller parking for around 20 vehicles was created at the Saproon bypass. It would soon be put for auction. This move to pursue smaller parking projects is aimed at facilitating residents wherever a vehicle influx is registered.