Multi-level parking lots may be touted as the answer to parking problems in the city, but many of the automated or conventional parking projects that were supposed to be constructed by the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) and Delhi Development Authority (DDA) have failed to materialise. Both the agencies had to auction plots meant for parking, or re-invite tenders. The MCD’s plans to construct 15 automated parking sites have been in the works since 2003. At Kamla Nagar, only 35 per cent of the work has been completed, even though the project was commissioned way back in 2007. The automated parking projects at Qutab Road and Rajouri Garden are still under consideration, and GK-II is now being considered “not feasible”. Tenders are being re-invited for automated parking projects at Rani Bagh and Shastri Park. “The other automated parking lots coming up at GK-I, South Extension, Lajpat Nagar and Defence Colony are in various stages of finalisation, with financial bids being evaluated for some and work orders being issued for others,” said an MCD official. Most of the projects were stuck due to protests by RWAs and traders’ associations in these areas, he added. “There are very few companies in India that have the expertise to take up such projects,” said MCD spokesperson Deep Mathur. Of the 22 conventional parking projects planned by the MCD, work has begun on four — Hauz Khas, Munirka, Parade Ground and Model Town — and only 50 per cent of the construction has been completed till date. The original deadline for these projects was Commonwealth Games. In other cases, projects in Hauz Rani, Janakpuri, Malviya Nagar, Jangpura, Gandhi Nagar, etc. have been stuck due to alignment- or clearance-related problems. “Getting approvals takes a lot of time. After that, shifting of utility services leads to more problems — delaying parking projects for years together,” said an official. Meanwhile, none of the stack parking sites are ready either. “Due to site conditions at Karol Bagh, the design has been reworked, and work is in progress. Tenders are being invited for stack parking sites in Central Delhi and Shalimar Bagh,’’ the official said. DDA parking sites have also been re-auctioned several times, but have found no takers. The land agency was supposed to develop eight to ten multi-level parking lots in the city — supposed to be developed on a public private partnership (PPP) basis on the lines of the one at Nehru Place. They have managed to auction only three sites, and work is yet to start at Wazirpur.