Vendors and illegaly parked vehicles at Bajrakabati in Cuttack. Pictures by Badrika Nath Das

Cuttack, Nov. 17: The traffic management committee has accused the municipal corporation of taking no steps to develop the parking places and make vending zones operational.

Pradeep Kumar Dalai, assistant commissioner of police, Cuttack, has made the allegation before Orissa High Court on behalf of the committee.

In an affidavit, Dalai has stated that a sub-committee of the panel had inspected 19 parking places, which were then identified by the Cuttack Municipal Corporation (CMC).

Subsequently, the Cuttack collector issued a notification marking these places as parking lots on October 7, 2013. “But till now the municipal body has not taken any steps to develop the places and make it fit for regular parking,” Dalai alleged in his affidavit.

Seeking the court’s direction to the civic body commissioner for compliance with the committee’s decision, the affidavit alleged that “in spite of repeated requests to CMC no result is forthcoming”.

The police official also said that at a meeting on September 9, the traffic management committee had decided to make 23 vending zones operational after the municipal body identified them as legal.

“But no steps has been taken by the municipal corporation to make these 23 vending zones in Cuttack operational so that the police can clear the unauthorised vendors from the roads,” Dalai said in his affidavit, which was filed last week.

The division bench of Justice Indrajit Mahanty and Justice S.C. Parija, which is hearing PILs on civic problems, has sought a reply from the civic body. The matter is expected to be taken up on Friday.

In his affidavit, Dalai also said the traffic management committee in its meeting on August 7 had decided to form an enforcement squad that would meet once a week and make surprise checking of illegal parking, encroachments and other works that causes traffic congestion.

“But the Cuttack Municipal Corporation and Central Electricity Supply Utility (Cesu) has not provided the names of the officers who will be part of the squad. Therefore, the proposed panel is not been able to function,” Dalai said in his affidavit.

The committee had decided that the squad would function under the supervision of Dalai. The members of the squad will include inspector traffic (Cuttack urban police district) and equivalent rank officers of Cuttack Development Authority, Cuttack Municipal Corporation, Regional Transport Office and Central Electricity Supply Utility.

As part of adjudication of PILs on civic problems of Cuttack city, the high court had formed the traffic management committee. The commissioner of police is the ex-officio head of the committee.