Opinion: Dear Car Owners, 'Buy One, Get One Free' Is Not For This

I want Ram Rajya in Delhi. This utopian state of my dreams that has eluded Indians for several millennia will have its Lakshman-Rekha to define spaces that nobody can encroach upon. Especially not those who think that the universe is their parking lot. In Delhi, parking disputes are as old and serious as the metaphorical ones between good and evil.

No residential area in Delhi, or any other city in India, is immune to parking disputes that can easily lead to violence and even fatalities. Interestingly, in most cases, neither party has a legal right over the space they fiercely fight for. Just like two college Romeos fighting over a girl, who is unaware of their very existence. It is both amusing and appalling at the same time.

The root of all parking-related evils in India is the assumption that a plot of public land is allotted to a person the moment s/he buys a car or two-wheeler. As the newly procured vehicle is protected with waterproof covers, this plot of land is protected with big potted plants, chains, vigilance of liveried or mufti-clad 'guards', or even ancient scooters and mopeds that are resurrected solely for this purpose. Needless to say, all of it is illegal.

What is outrageous, however, is that this illegal occupation gets more brazen and descends into criminality with time, but nobody views it as such. The longer you have squatted over a piece of land near your house, shop, or office, the stronger your right becomes. This illegally procured plot becomes an annexe to your (hopefully) legally procured residential or commercial structure. Not only that, it becomes an extension of your body, equally inviolable.

While civic and police authorities at least pretend to resolve encroachment issues in some commercial and official areas, they are mostly clueless, often intentionally so, when it comes to residential areas. While there is a fee, however nominal, for accessing parking spots in and around markets and office complexes, the loot of public spaces continues unabated in residential areas. Somehow, the idea of paying either in the form of building or purchasing parking spaces is alien to even the wealthiest members of Delhi society. The only principle at work here is 'buy one (car), get one (parking spot) free'. Despite access to a relatively robust public transport system, people in Delhi have continued to expand their fleet of cars and dutifully contributed to air pollution and congestion issues.

The impunity with which car owners deprive others of their right of way, whether on the road or off it, is heightened by the negligence and corruption of authorities at one level and the lack of planning at the policy level. Police resolve most parking disputes, where physical violence hasn't occurred, by handing over more spaces to the warring parties. X to park in front of their house, Y to park under a tree five metres away. Everyone is happy. Encroachment begets further encroachment. To be fair, the severely overburdened police cannot be expected to do a lot more than minimising the chances of violent conflicts in such cases.

While most encroachers rely on their strength in numbers when challenged, many are suave enough to con the challenger with legalese if the time-tested intimidation tactics do not work. One such encroacher had the temerity to shout, "I have the easement rights" when asked about the basis of their ownership claim. In a country with limited legal literacy, such confident proclamations get the job done. But why even go there when the classic, "Do you know who I am" works as a potent weapon? For further serious confrontations, there's the gun.

As Delhi continues to grow bigger, dirtier, and angrier, this colossus of everyday impunity needs to be dismantled, one arm at a time lest the city implodes. At the policy level, the use of public land for private parking should be outlawed, subject to severe punishment. Zero exceptions. Police should be incentivised for on-spot fines and vehicle seizures for repeat offenders. Civil authorities are often interested in headline-making big plans and moves. Instead of focusing solely on long-term mega projects of big parking plazas, due attention needs to be paid to developing neighbourhood parking lots and garages.

If the city can fix its parking issues, many other problems will automatically be solved. Hopefully, the non-availability of free land will dissuade people from expanding motor fleets, to begin with. Delhi boasts of some of the widest urban roads in the country, they'll finally be used to capacity. Motor thefts can come down with well-monitored legitimate parking areas. When the roads and streets are cleared of haphazardly parked vehicles, they can be cleaned more efficiently.

In a city where everybody's father is somebody, eliminating the culture of entitlement is a battle that cannot be fought and won at once. A beginning, however, needs to be made urgently and automobile encroachment is a low-hanging fruit. Hopefully, the carrot of a cleaner, safer parking space that encourages the car owner to undertake a small walk to keep their heart healthy will work, and the stick of punishment won't be used! Let's start with the ego-boosting campaign 'Delhi cars are special, they deserve their best life'. Make paid car parks into status symbols and the VIPs will throng them!

And that will be the beginning of a modern Ram Rajya. 

(Nishtha Gautam is a Delhi-based author and academic.)

Disclaimer: These are the personal opinions of the author.