Pune: State Chief Information Commissioner Rahul Pande has directed the traffic police department in the state to publish location-wise details of all notified parking and no-parking zones on their official websites and social media platforms.The order came after an RTI application filed by Kurla resident Ganesh Vitthal Nakhate. The application sought details of the traffic police’s approval for a ‘No-Parking’ board installed near Prakash Upahargruha at Laxmanrao Yadav Mandai in Kurla, its authorisation and action taken if it had been installed without permission.“There should be a mechanism to have these details on the websites of the commissioner offices. The traffic police departments of all districts should be able to put out these on their apps or websites,” Pande told TOI.While in the case the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) informed the applicant that no-parking boards were installed on the directions of the traffic police through contractors appointed by the civic body, the action against unauthorised boards falls within the traffic police’s jurisdiction.The commission found that the available information had already been furnished to the appellant. However, Pande observed that the case underscored the need for citizens to have easy access to authentic information on notified parking and no-parking zones.Referring to a similar state information commission order issued in 2019 directing the Mumbai traffic police to publish approved parking and no-parking notifications online, he said the directions should now be implemented across the state.Accordingly, Pande directed the Mumbai traffic police to upload site-wise details of every notified parking and no-parking location on its website and social media platforms.Although the appeal pertained only to Mumbai, he extended the directions to district police, commissionerate traffic wings, municipal corporations, municipal councils and nagar parishads across Maharashtra, asking them to make similar disclosures in their respective jurisdictions.“The traffic department and commissionerate offices in all districts can mention the authorised parking and no-parking zones on their websites or mobile applications. It will make it easier for citizens to identify these spaces,” Pande told TOI.Invoking provisions of the RTI Act and the Supreme Court’s ruling in Kishan Chand Jain Vs Union of India on proactive disclosure, the commission said publishing the information would improve transparency and reduce disputes over parking enforcement.
