The multi-level parking near the High Court (the Lift) was closed for the time being after the Shimla Municipal Corporation (SMC) snapped electricity and water supply of the building where the facility is located.
A poster has been put at the entry point of the building informing the public about the suspension of services at the parking lot, which has a capacity of 660 vehicles.
Pramod Kumar Sood, Director of Shimla Tolls Project Private Limited, the firm that runs the parking lot, said, “It is not possible to run the parking lot without electricity and water supply.”
BR Sharma, Additional Commissioner of the SMC, said, “Several violations were found in the building and hence, electricity and water supply connections were snapped. The matter is sub judice, so I won’t comment on the technical part of it.”
In the notice served on the firm, the SMC had stated that the approval was granted for a six-storey structure with open parking at the terrace level but a seven-storey structure with open terrace parking was constructed at the site. Besides, the height of the ground floor is double the permission granted. Shops at the terrace and an office area have been constructed without prior approval from the SMC, the notice stated.
Sood said, “Any violations should have been brought to notice in 2019 when the SMC-appointed independent engineer gave the completion certificate for the building. Now, the SMC says that it cannot give shops on rent. We have suffered huge losses due to the parking lot. If the SMC wants, we will give away the parking.”
Meanwhile, the SMC has issued another notice to the firm directing it to resume the parking facility at the earliest. Sharma said, “The parking lot is a public property. The private firm on its own cannot suspend services at the parking facility. Inconvenience of any kind to the public won’t be tolerated. We have issued a notice to the firm, directing it to resume services on or before January 16.” He added that the parking lot could be run without water and electricity during the day.
