Noida blinks, scraps parking fee for front area of industrial units

  • | Friday | 5th October, 2018

Our longstanding demands have been met,” he said.The free parking is, however, likely to create a parking mess and also add to pollution.Vivek Chattopadhyaya, programme manager (air pollution control) at Centre for Science and Environment (CSE), said making parking free is not an ideal option.“Parking lots should be managed properly. The company or factory should pay Noida Authority if the workers are not able to pay.“Now, people may buy more vehicles and park them on roads, which will lead to traffic congestion. NEA president Vipin Malhan said factory employees, buyers and suppliers are charged for parking their cars and motorcycles outside factory premises.“The monthly parking fee reaches around Rs 1-2 lakh in some factories, burdening workers. Larger factories generally have parking facilities in their own campuses. We demanded that the Authority waive parking fees for industrial units,” he said.Union minister and local MP from Gautam Budh Nagar Mahesh Sharma was also present in the protest and facilitated their meeting with the chief executive officer of Noida Authority, Alok Tandon.NEA member Sudhir Shrivastava termed the waiver a big win for traders and entrepreneurs in the city.“Now, around 90% factories and industries won’t have to pay parking fees.

NOIDA: The Noida Authority has declared that the area in front of industrial units measuring not more than 1,800 square metres will be free for parking Almost 90% of the 10,200 industrial units in Noida are less than 1,800sqm.The decision comes after pressure from entrepreneurs, who claimed that their workers were refusing to come to work because of the parking fee being charged.On Thursday, scores of industrialists and residents marched from Sector 5 to the Noida Authority office in Sector 6 demanding that the space outside their factories be left free for parking.Traffic remained affected on the Udyog Marg and the connecting roads due to the protest.Environment experts, however, warned that unregulated parking could lead to mismanagement and traffic mess.Members of Noida Entrepreneurs Association (NEA), Federation of Noida Residents’ Welfare Associations (FONRWA), as well as other trader organisations participated in the protest march. NEA president Vipin Malhan said factory employees, buyers and suppliers are charged for parking their cars and motorcycles outside factory premises.“The monthly parking fee reaches around Rs 1-2 lakh in some factories, burdening workers. We demanded that the Authority waive parking fees for industrial units,” he said.Union minister and local MP from Gautam Budh Nagar Mahesh Sharma was also present in the protest and facilitated their meeting with the chief executive officer of Noida Authority, Alok Tandon.NEA member Sudhir Shrivastava termed the waiver a big win for traders and entrepreneurs in the city.“Now, around 90% factories and industries won’t have to pay parking fees. Larger factories generally have parking facilities in their own campuses. Our longstanding demands have been met,” he said.The free parking is, however, likely to create a parking mess and also add to pollution.Vivek Chattopadhyaya, programme manager (air pollution control) at Centre for Science and Environment (CSE), said making parking free is not an ideal option.“Parking lots should be managed properly. The company or factory should pay Noida Authority if the workers are not able to pay.“Now, people may buy more vehicles and park them on roads, which will lead to traffic congestion. Parking should be taxed and people be encouraged to use public transport instead,” he said.RK Mishra, additional CEO, Noida Authority, said they had offered monthly passes at a discounted price to industrialists and their employees, but they refused.The total revenue loss due to parking fee waiver is yet to be ascertained.In the meeting, members of Federation of Noida Residents Welfare Association (FONRWA) also discussed the conversion of leasehold property to freehold with Alok Tandon, who assured them that the issue will be discussed in the next board meeting.

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