NDMC annulled contract in 2016 but DIMTS failed to return parking lots, civic body to seek legal action
The New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) on Monday once again asked the Delhi Integrated Multi-Modal Transit System (DIMTS) to return its street level parking lots, located across Lutyens’ Delhi, which they have been occupying, allegedly, illegally.
Sources in the NDMC added that if the parking lots are not be handed over to them, the civic body will seek legal action in the matter.
The civic agency has written, unsuccessfully, to DIMTS, — a joint venture company between the Delhi government and a not-for-profit, IDFC Foundation — several times to transfer the parking lots back to it, largely over poor financial returns by the company.
On Monday, NDMC Secretary Chanchal Yadav, in a letter to Rakesh Mahajan, Vice-President Operations at DIMTS, said, “I expect that DIMTS, as a responsible organisation, will extend all assistance to NDMC for the smooth transfer of parking lots and assets/infrastructure.”
“It is again requested that the vacant possession of NDMC’s parking lots may kindly be handed over to NDMC immediately without further delay. It is also requested to ensure that all the assets — tangible and intangible — which have been established using the monies received by running the NDMC’s parking lots not be disturbed, tampered with nor removed, and should be handed over to the NDMC along with the vacant possession of parking lots.”
In 2014, when the civic body’s ambitious automated multi-level parking projects were either reeling from poor demand or were stuck due to clearance issues, and to make parking more structured and safer, the NDMC handed over the management of all the parking lots in its area to DIMTS.
DIMTS finally took over 99 or 103 available sites.
However, its poor returns seem to have prompted the NDMC to have second thoughts.
In 2015, DIMTS paid NDMC Rs 3.19 crore in parking fees, a sharp decline from the Rs 9.28 crore collected in 2012-2013 by a previous contractor and Rs 4.33 crore in 2013-14. The FY2014 number was lower due to renovation in Connaught Place.
The NDMC ordered an audit, as well as an internal probe, in late 2015. It found that the parking lots were handed over in April 2014 without any formal agreement between the two parties and that it violated laws and guidelines.
The enforcement department of the civic body on September 5, 2016 found there was neither any agreement nor any decision by the competent authority to hand over the parking sites.
The department found that though it was claimed that a presentation was made before the Council, “no approval of the council in this regard is available on record.”
Finding irregularities, the NDMC in September 2016 had decided to annul the contract with DIMTS by giving 15 days notice.
It subsequently wrote to DIMTS on December 16, 23 and 29, 2016, to hand over all the parking lots.
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