Allow registration to vehicles only after space proof, says Gadkari

Union Minister Nitin Gadkari on Thursday said he agreed "in-principle" with his cabinet colleague M Venkaiah Naidu's suggestion of allowing registration to vehicles only after production of parking space availability certificate to the authorities.

However, the Road Transport and Highways Minister said the idea requires discussion with stakeholders before it could be implemented. "In principle, I agree to the suggestion of Mr Naidu but there is a practical problem... There is need for discussions before going ahead (in this regard)," he told reporters here. He was responding to a query about Naidu's suggestion that no car or vehicle should be registered without adequate parking space availability, in a bid to decongest the roads.

"There are more numbers of cars in a house than family members. There is no underground parking and vehicle is parked on the roads which have become parking plazas. How will people walk on the road? Accidents are taking place," he said, adding parking of vehicles on the roads has become another problem in the cities now. Gadkari further pitched for making available parking spaces in offices and other public places for the convenience of the people and decongesting the road.

He stressed the need for moving towards a society which has various options including underground and mechanised parking. Gadkari was also of the view that those clicking and sending the photographs of vehicles parked on roads could be incentivised with paying some money, while imposing fine on the vehicle owners. "In future, it would be mandated (that) no permission would be given to any construction without a toilet... no car or vehicle should be registered without adequate parking space availability certificate," Naidu, the Union Urban Development Minister, had said last month.