No parking space? Can’t buy car: New order in UP

Lucknow: For those living in Agra, Mathura and Ferozabad, buying a car is going to be more difficult, as it has been made mandatory that anyone who wishes to buy a car will now be required to submit an affidavit to regional transport office (RTO) declaring that they have private parking space for the vehicle.

The move, which is being implemented in three districts, is expected to be applicable to the whole of Uttar Pradesh form the next year.

According to a senior official in the state transport department, the decision has been taken to ensure that car owners do not park their vehicles in public places, causing traffic jams and illegal encroachments.

Assistant RTO (administration) Mathura, Prashant Tiwari, said, “The new order says that anyone buying a personal vehicle will have to submit an affidavit declaring that they have parking space for the vehicle, or else it will not be registered.

At present, the order is applicable to the districts under the Taj Trapezium Zone (in which Agra, Mathura and Ferozabad are included).

The problem of finding parking space in small cities like Mathura-Vrindavan — where around 1,000 new vehicles are registered every month — is getting worse every day”.

A similar rule already exists for commercial vehicles in UP, and many other cities have similar rules for office complexes but most of them remain unimplemented.

This is perhaps the first time such a rule is being introduced for private cars in residential areas. The transport department will also conduct a physical verification of the parking space before granting permission for the vehicle. Officials said that the move would also discourage families from having multiple cars without adequate parking space.