Owners of plots of over 250 sq mt are unhappy with the MPD 2021 norms for parking as they have to give up valuable space.
The parking place norms as specified by the civic agencies for properties in plotted residential areas with its emphasis on car park space being provided within the house compound is a blessing for some but an unpleasant necessity for others. With many feeling it ought to be revised.
According to the Delhi Master Plan 2021, while the smaller plots in residential colonies need not have parking space for a car within the compound, it is mandatory for all plots of 250 sq mt and above to have parking space in the yard.
The mandatory provision for parking space seems like a great idea as it will provide for marked parking for a building's residents and also allow for less congestion on the streets adjoining the properties.
Those going in for a new construction are, however, not very happy because they feel that providing for the mandatory parking space at the ground level will leave them with relatively less space for construction. The ground floor is generally considered prime space in a house. To leave a large part of it vacant for parking is thought by many as a complete waste of this prime space.
As per the Municipal Corporation of Delhi ( MCD ) guidelines for sanctioning building plans in plots between 250 sq mt to 300 sq mt, two equivalent car spaces ( ECS ) have to provided at the ground level. In plots that exceed 300 sq mt one ECS for every 100 sq mt of builtup area has to be provided.
To cite an example, in a 500 sq mt plot size, if the owner builds a house with maximum permissible construction space, he would have built 375 sq mt. As per rules he would then need to provide 11.25 ECS at ground level. The ECS areas have been divided into three categories one ECS in sq mt equals to 23 for open area, 28 for covered area and 32 in basement. So 11.25 ECS would in a 500 sq mt plot equal to 259 sq mt. The parking space at ground level can be provided as open or on stilts that is columns on which the ground floor then may be built.
In residential plots parking space has to be first provided on ground level either in open space or on one with stilts. The parking space to be provided is related to the constructed area of the house and if the entire FAR is not used then the ECS required goes down accordingly. But if the owner uses up the entire permissible FAR as in the example cited above he could be building a house with a basement, accommodating parking space at ground level, a ground floor, first floor, second floor and third floor, all within the maximum height of the house from ground level being 15 mts. So actually a lot of space at the ground level would be taken up for parking.
The parking norms are irking countless owners of residential property built in 250 sq mt or above area prior to the MPD 2021 that was notified in February 2007. People were initially delighted that under the new MPD norms they could have increased built-up space as the FAR was increased. But their smiles vanished when they learnt it could only be possible if they provided parking space within the compound of their buildings as specified in the MPD 2021. In many properties separate floors belong to different persons. To provide the mandatory parking space would entail using up space at the ground level and no ground floor owner in any house would want to part with that precious commodity. Even if he did it would virtually mean rebuilding or extensively renovating the house, a proposal that the owners of other parts of the house may not agree to. As the civic agencies in pursuant to the MPD norms deny sanctions unless rules are followed a large chunk of affected property owners feel that this “irrational“ policy ought to be reviewed.
(In residential properties built on plot size less than 250 sq mt along notified roads and commercial streets provision of parking space rules differ and have not been detailed above.)
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