Nagpur: In an attempt to address Nagpur’s growing parking woes, the Smart City initiative proposed the construction of four multi-level automated parking plazas at different locations. However, a similar project undertaken a decade ago by the Nagpur Improvement Trust (NIT) at Variety Square — a towering eight-story multi-level parking facility — has remained non-operational, rendering it a costly failure.
The reasons behind NIT’s inability to manage this facility remain unclear. However, a lack of will within the Board of Trustees seems to have contributed to its neglect. Over time, even officials have chosen to remain silent on the matter. If Smart City were to take over and operationalize this existing multi-level automated parking at the busy Sitabuldi commercial hub, it could provide much-needed relief to vehicle owners.
Gold Rate
Tuesday 25 March 2025
Despite several attempts to lease the fully built parking plaza through tenders, no bidders came forward. After a prolonged period of inactivity, the project was ultimately shelved, and the space was leased to a hotel operator instead.
The failure of the BOT model
With the Smart City project itself facing challenges, approval was granted for four additional parking plazas, each designed to accommodate 150 cars and 600 two-wheelers. However, the capacity at each site is limited to around 40 cars — far less than the Variety Square facility, which was designed to accommodate 72 cars simultaneously.
The failure to operationalize this first-of-its-kind automated parking facility highlights two major issues: the administration’s inefficiency and NIT’s lack of determination. Despite growing demand for multi-level parking solutions, Nagpur’s past Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) projects have largely been unsuccessful. Yet, the new projects have also been launched under the BOT model, with plans to eventually transfer them to NIT.
Operational hurdles and financial demands
• The operator managing the parking plaza was given the authority to set parking charges.
• A nominal annual lease payment of ₹7.51 lakh was required to be paid to NIT.
• The operator secured a three-year contract and had already made an advance payment of ₹5 lakh.
• An agreement was signed between NIT and the operator, and operations were expected to begin immediately.
However, despite a brief period of smooth operation, various challenges, including administrative neglect and parking charges, led to a decline in usage. Eventually, vehicle owners stopped using the facility altogether.
Key specifications of the Parking Plaza
• Total land area: 7,500 sq. ft.
• Height: 29.19 meters
• Total parking levels: 18
• Level height: 1.68 meters
• Capacity: 2 cars per level
• Underground parking: 2 levels
• Lift capacity: 2,500 kg
Despite the clear need for well-managed parking infrastructure in Nagpur, administrative inefficiencies and a lack of commitment have turned these ambitious projects into underutilized assets. Will the city learn from past failures, or will these parking plazas continue to remain white elephants?
The automated multi-level parking plaza at Sitabuldi near the now defunct Apna Bhandar, is also in the limelight. The ground reality reflects that the project is based on thoughtless planning. Instead of resolving the parking woes and congestion, it might even worsen the situation for those visiting the city’s main market.
Apart from the question — whether the plaza is sufficient enough to cater to the number of vehicles moving in and out of the market — the authorities also do not have clear answers about entry and exit of the vehicles to and from this parking place. As far as the official position is concerned, NSSCDCL has planned four parking plazas in the city with an intention to resolve the parking problems. These areas include Gokulpeth, Anaj Market at Itwari, Gandhisagar lakeside, and the heart of Sitabuldi market.
