High-Rise, No Parking: CGDCR Gaps Fuel Visitor Parking Chaos
One of the most important considerations when purchasing residential or commercial property in urban India today is parking space. With cities becoming increasingly congested, the scarcity of parking has turned into a daily struggle for citizens. However, the issue goes beyond accommodating residents—it’s visitors who face the brunt of poor planning.
Despite the guidelines under the Comprehensive General Development Control Regulations (CGDCR), many high-rises and commercial complexes in cities like Ahmedabad are failing to allocate adequate space for visitor parking. This gap between regulation and execution has led to frequent roadside parking, traffic bottlenecks, and, at times, confrontations between motorists and security personnel or local shopkeepers.
Experts note that while residents usually have designated slots, it’s the visitors—be they friends, delivery agents, or customers—who find themselves circling blocks in search of legal parking. Ironically, even buildings constructed under the latest CGDCR norms do not seem to provide enough parking for temporary users.
Encroachments and Rule Bending
The situation is worsened when developers either skip allocating the required visitor parking or repurpose those spaces for utilities, gardens, or private storage areas. In several housing societies, residents occupy visitor slots themselves, leaving no option for outsiders except to park haphazardly on adjacent roads.
As per current CGDCR norms, at least 10% of the total parking area in residential projects must be earmarked for visitors. For commercial and mixed-use spaces, this figure can go up to 30%. But on-ground implementation often falls short. This discrepancy not only violates the law but also compromises public convenience and safety.
‘Not One-Size-Fits-All’: Experts Call for Category-Based Rules
According to former Chief Town Planner of Gujarat, PL Sharma, the CGDCR needs an overhaul. “There is no differentiation within commercial use categories. The parking needs of a retail showroom are vastly different from those of a small office. Yet, they are all treated under one rule,” he pointed out.
Sharma advocates a more granular classification of commercial activities under CGDCR and suggests increasing visitor parking provision in residential buildings to 50% for better compliance and public utility.
Residents Also at Fault
However, not everyone blames developers. Dhruv Patel, President of CREDAI Ahmedabad, argues that misuse by occupants is a larger issue. “Many times, visitor parking is clearly marked but gets occupied by residents themselves. Once the building is handed over, developers can’t enforce discipline—the responsibility shifts to residents and society management,” Patel said.
Enforcement and Structural Reform Needed
Officials from urban development authorities say that complaints can be raised with AMC, AUDA, or GujaratRERA if developers fail to deliver on parking promises. During the approval phase, layouts often include sufficient parking. But unauthorized modifications post-construction remain a persistent problem.
Some rules also dilute the effectiveness of CGDCR itself. “Driveways and ramps are often included in the parking area count, which reduces actual usable space,” one official pointed out.
The growing gap between planning and reality indicates that it may be time to revisit and revise the CGDCR framework—this time, with parking as a priority, not an afterthought.
AM.
