Families should not own 4-5 cars if they don't have parking: Bombay HC

The Bombay High Court has said that authorities must not allow citizens to own multiple vehicles if they don’t have enough parking space in their society.

A bench of Chief Justice Dipankar Datta and Justice GS Kulkarni said on Thursday that authorities “should not allow families owning only one flat to have four or five cars if they do not have sufficient parking space”.

The bench was hearing a public interest litigation filed by a Navi Mumbai resident and activist Sandeep Thakur challenging a government notification that amended the Unified Development Control and Promotion Regulations Rules, permitting developers to reduce space for parking.

Thakur said in his plea that developers do not provide sufficient parking in new apartment colonies, thereby forcing residents to park outside the premises of the housing society.

“Reduction in the purchase of new cars is needed. You can’t permit one family to have four to five vehicles just because they can afford it. You should cross-check if they have parking spaces or not,” the HC said.

The court questioned the rules challenged in the PIL and said there will be “chaos if a proper policy on vehicle parking is not formulated”.

“All roads are flooded with vehicles and everywhere, 30 per cent space of roads is taken away by parking on both sides. It is a common phenomenon,” it said.

“These are genuine public concerns which have to be taken into consideration to come up with long-term measures so that we do not have a chaotic society. There has to be a policy in place.”

The high court directed state’s counsel, Manish Pable, to file a reply to the PIL within two weeks.