The state’s first puzzle parking, conceived by the Ranchi Municipal Corporation (RMC) for the capital nearly three years ago, is unlikely to see the light of day anytime soon, courtesy land hurdle.

The puzzle parking system involves a mechanical device that multiplies capacity inside a parking lot. A vehicle can be transported vertically (up or down) and horizontally (left or right) to a vacant space until needed again.

To protect city roads from haphazard and unauthorised parking, the civic authorities had planned such a G+3 mechanised facility each at Sujata Chowk on Main Road, Sadhu Maidan in Kokar and Shivpuri in Hinoo.

The state urban development department had released funds in 2016-end and the RMC requested the Ranchi district administration to transfer land in 2017. More than a year down the line, the ambitious project is still waiting for those plots of land.

“The district land acquisition department has informed us that all the three identified sites are caught in litigation. This is making us rethink the project. We are now more inclined on creating parking spaces along roads,” said municipal commissioner Manoj Kumar, indicating that the multi-level parking had virtually been put on the back burner.

A puzzle parking system that was proposed in the capital three years ago. Picture by Prashant Mitra

Ranchi deputy mayor Sanjeev Vijayvargiya confirmed that lack of land transfer had put a spanner in their works and the feasibility of multi-tier parking at the three sites was dubious.

“We had sanctioned nearly Rs 17 crore for the three sites and the Jharkhand Urban Infrastructure Development Company had agreed to start construction work soon after land transfer. However, land acquisition has played spoilsport. The project is almost shelved,” Vijayvargiya said.

Sources in the RMC informed that at the moment, there were only 30 dedicated parking lots, mostly along roads, for two-wheelers and four-wheelers.

“We charge Rs 30 for every three hours from four-wheelers and Rs 10 from two-wheelers for the same duration. These 30 paid parking lots are not enough for the rising number of vehicles. We will need more than double that number if the multi-level parking plan is shelved,” said a city manager associated with urban planning.

Residents accused the RMC of short-sightedness.

“Elected representatives make tall promises without proper planning, which pushes most projects into cold storage. How come they didn’t check if a particular site is in legal bind before identifying it for a project? They should see how urban local bodies plan projects in cities like Pune and Bhubaneswar,” said Mohan Kumar, a transporter.

Kumar added that a puzzle parking, especially along Main Road, would have solved the routine problem of traffic congestion to a great extent. “But, alas!”