Keep round-the-clock vigil at Sarojini Nagar market: NGT

The National Green Tribunal today directed the New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) to maintain a round-the-clock vigil at the Sarojini Nagar market here to ensure that vehicles are not parked on the streets around it.

A bench headed by NGT Chairperson Justice Swatanter Kumar asked the civic body and the traffic police to ensure deployment of appropriate force at the famous South Delhbi market place.

"You (traffic police) deploy force even at night so that people don't park their vehicles on the road," the bench observed.

The observation came after advocate Sakshi Popli, appearing for NDMC, told the tribunal that though people were parking their vehicles at the multi-level facility during the day, the shopkeepers were parking their cars on the roads at night.
 

She informed the bench that the NDMC was still facing non-cooperation from the local shopkeepers as they were unwilling to take monthly passes for the multi-level parking which costs around Rs 2,000.

The lawyer said additional police force should be deployed to ban surface parking in the market.

Advocate Tarunvir Singh Khehar, appearing for the Delhi traffic police, told the NGT that they have towed away 11,500 cars till date.

Rejecting a plea by the market association to park vehicles on the roads, the NGT had on November 17 banned parking in the market and said the violators would be fined Rs 5,000 as environmental compensation, in addition to the fines mentioned under the Motor Vehicles Act.

The green panel had directed the shopkeepers and the shoppers to park their vehicles at the multi-level parking lot built by the NDMC, which remains open round-the-clock.

The NGT had directed the corporation to consider reducing the parking fees for shopkeepers who live in the area.

It had also directed the NDMC to cancel the contract of the contractors engaged in surface parking business in the popular market.

It had directed the officials of Delhi Traffic Police and the enforcement department of the Delhi government to be present continuously for two weeks near the multi-level parking lot and ensure compliance of its directions.