Spoilt lot

Delhi's parking crisis plays itself out in residential and commercial areas

Delhi has more than 4 million registered vehicles as of now. Nearly 360,000 vehicles were added in 2005-06, estimating from the data of that year's
Economic Survey of Delhi. That worked out to an average of 994 new vehicles a day, of which 963 were private vehicles, of which 308 were
cars. In terms of growth rate, private cars recorded the highest figure--92 per cent--between 1995 and 2005.

This growth has created, and continues to create, an exponentially increasing demand for parking space, bringing about a land crisis in Delhi. The
crisis plays itself out both in residential areas and commercial parking lots. While commercial parking sites have a modicum of management,
residential areas are witnessing a sociological change. "Parking is becoming a ground for discord among neighbours," says Neeta Anand, who is with
the residents' welfare association of Delhi's posh Defence Colony. "I keep hearing of disputes all the time. There was one, two days ago."Rajeev
Kakaria of the residents' welfare association of upmarket Greater Kailash-I, says, "I hear of a parking row once every three days or so
here."

An assistant commissioner of police describes how his sister complained about the rear-view mirror of her car being broken thrice in a week due to
bad parking arrangements "She was parking her car in front of a neighbour's house. I told her the neighbour was doing this deliberately, and that
she should go have a word with him." It is very difficult to estimate the extent of the problem in residential areas. Most of such cases do not reach
police stations, and the ones that do are categorised not as parking disputes, but as disputes among neighbours. The assistant commissioner says it
is quite common for neighbours to approach the local police with complaints against each other. "Typically, these have to do with three issues
parking space; use of the common terrace; and sharing of water," says another Delhi Police officer. All three are common resources, which points to
a tension between private needs and public regulation.

Private v public
The automobile boom is taking away big swathes of public space leading to dangerous, if unforeseen, consequences. "Our larger rescue vehicles get
stuck all the time because of excessive on-street parking," complains Delhi's chief fire officer R C Sharma. "Forget about our vehicles getting the
right of way, people park their vehicles illegally on our premises, sometimes obstructing vehicles trying to get out of the fire station." Rohit Baluja of
the Institute of Road Traffic Education, an ngo in Delhi, says the time has come for the city to consider how many civic
amenities it is willing to forgo for the sake of private vehicles "Walking is an essential activity, but Indian cities are remarkable in their insensitivity
to pedestrians. Cars control our roads, public spaces and imagination." He gives an example "When schools are given land, one of the conditions is
that they will manage their parking inside the school. But go to any major school, and you will find vehicles parked all over the roads outside. It is a
hazard to school children."

K T Ravindran, dean of studies at the School of Planning and Architecture, says we have forgotten that our cities were never built for such large
numbers of private vehicles "People say it is economic growth. This kind of growth is cancerous, and its effects will show slowly." P K Sarkar, professor and head of transport planning at
the school, has found himself in heated arguments with his neighbours in south Delhi's Chittaranjan Park over badly parked vehicles "Flats are rapidly
coming up on what were once single-occupancy houses. Easy car loans and a booming economy mean each household can afford more than one
car. But these localities just can't take this kind of vehicular pressure."Transport professors acknowledge that the car boom has brought about a
sociological change that has not been studied.

Ravi Sundaram, fellow at the Centre for the Study of Developing Societies, Delhi, says there is a big subsidy for private life in Indian cities at the
cost of public life, whether it concerns road space, water or electricity. "Private vehicles need broader roads, so slum settlements are bulldozed
without compensation. But there is no talk of removing cars that encroach on public space. At the most they get a fine," he points out.

"There are known intersections in Delhi where pedestrians and cyclists get killed regularly by cars, yet nobody talks about these. But it is not just
Delhi. The entire urban discourse in India is about fulfilment of private life. It is controlled by a non-voting class of people who don't participate in
the city's politics, and drive in air-conditioned cars that provide them a mobile and secure private space." The violence brought about by the
automobile boom is present all over, but never discussed. Sundaram says Delhi has faced disasters, but what it is facing now is its first urban crisis,
which began in the early 1990s with the rapid expansion of the city, fuelled by easy credit for housing and vehicles.

Qamar Ahmed, Delhi Police's joint commissioner in charge of traffic, has the unenviable task of managing the city's traffic. "On-street parking is one
of the main reasons for congestion on our roads. People want to park anywhere they can. When the traffic police tow away their vehicles, they
complain there wasn't any 'no parking' sign. They ask me 'Where do we park?' I say I don't know; it's not my duty to provide you parking," he says,
adding, people don't realise that parking is not a right; it is a privilege. It is not the government's job to provide parking, Ahmed stresses. "It is
critical that the public transport in this city is improved. Otherwise, there is no way to provide the kind of parking that the city demands." On-road
parking is one of the biggest reasons for congestion, he says.

Ahmed knows of the numerous rows among neighbours over parking of vehicles in residential areas "The onus of parking rests on automobile buyers.
People must be asked to prove they have space to park their vehicle in their house before their vehicles are registered."