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| Roads turned into garages due to administrative inaction: HC | | HC seeks compliance of 17-year-old order on parking space in Srinagar’s busy street | | EARLY TIMES REPORT
SRINAGAR, Jan 1: Observing that roads have become garages due to administrative inaction, Jammu and Kashmir High Court has sought compliance report from government regarding its 17-year-old order, seeking resumption of 16000-sft for parking in Srinagar’s busy street of Residency road and Maisuma.
Hearing a plea, a division bench of Justices Ali Mohammad Magrey and D S Thakur expressed its displeasure about functioning of the authorities after being informed about the non-compliance of the order from last more than 17 years.
The court asked Advocate General to examine the law on the issue of traffic mess, observing that it has become usual routine in the Valley. “There is no action plan in place by the government so that menace of traffic jam would have been controlled. No road widening is undertaken by the authorities and the roads have become garages and the authorities are watching all this like a mute spectator,” the division bench observed and ordered government file compliance report by next date of hearing in the case.
The court passed the orders on a petition by Shopkeepers Association of Residency Road and Bund through president. The petitioner has sought compliance of government order passed in 2002 providing for resumption of 16000 sqft along side main residence road Srinagar out of land measuring 14 kanals and 9 marla situated at estate Kothibagh and Maisuma which is under the occupation of State Bank of India.
The petitioner through counsel submitted before the division bench that had the government order been complied with, the problem of road side traffic and messy traffic scenario in the area in particular would have been avoided.
Dealing with the issue of the traffic mess in a separate plea on Monday, the high court impressed upon the authorities not to allow roadside parking in Srinagar city and warned the government over failure to make parking place availability clause mandatory for registration of the vehicle.
“We again impress upon government to ensure that no vehicle is allowed to be parked on roadside and vehicles shall be parked in designed parking place only,” a division bench of the High Court had said.
“We also grant government one more opportunity to come up with the policy regarding regulating registration of the vehicles by imposing condition in the registration norms to the extent of the asking the owner who intends to have vehicle to have registered with the transport department by substantiating by documentary evidence about the availability of the parking place at his residence or working place,” the court had said and warned that in the event government fails to come up with the policy, stern action will be taken.
On previous date of hearing, the court had observed that many directions, passed by it have not been complied with for one reason or the other and as such the matter did not go in one track. The Court while dealing with the important issue of traffic mismanagement had issued directions regarding Air Pollution, Noise Pollution, Switching of vehicles over to CNG/LPG from Petrol/ Diesel, Switching of 20,000 autos plying in Srinagar over to CNG/LPG, inadequate space for passengers in the commercial vehicles, identifying and abolishing the unauthorized auto, sumo and bus stops/ stands, protecting the General Bus Stand and Pantha Chowk from encroachments, completion of road projects of key importance, status of the district wise traffic congestion and the measures taken for decongestion, removing ditches and other impediments within the city of Srinagar till macadamization takes place.
Regarding parking of vehicles, the Division Bench had directed Government of Jammu and Kashmir shall place the policy by amending the existing norms with respect to registration of vehicles (both public and private) by incorporating a condition in the Registration Norms to the effect that the owner of the vehicle seeking registration has a parking space/ garage space at his residence.
The Division Bench further had also directed Government to come up with a policy of banning the use of roads, be it National Highway, State Highway, City Roads for parking purposes.
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