The cost of a closed car parking space in an apartment complex of the Bangalore Development Authority (BDA) is anything between Rs 2 and Rs 5 lakh.
BDA officials, who so far did not charge allottees for the car parking space while selling flats, have now decided to do so as they aim to recover the construction cost.
The BDA will auction the available closed car parking spaces, while the open spaces in the apartment complex will remain free for flat owners. This decision was taken on Friday, after the BDA won the legal battle against its allottees in the high court on Thursday.
The cost of the parking space depends on the location. It is Rs 2 lakh for a 2.5 metres X 5.5 metres space. Bigger slots like the ones in Valagerahalli will cost Rs 3 lakh. In other locations, the cost will go up to Rs 5 lakh, said another BDA official.
“The amount will increase at the auction table. We also want to discourage people from having multiple cars,” the official added.
The allottees of Valagerahalli in Kengeri and members of Kailash BDA Flat Owners’ Association had filed a case in the high court questioning the action of BDA to auction the closed parking space, instead of allotting it to allottees directly. The single bench had dismissed their petition. The aggrieved allottees then filed a writ petition with the division bench which was dismissed on Thursday.
“Now, since the verdict is in our favour, we will resume the auction in a fortnight in Valagerahalli, then later it will be extended to other apartment complexes. We had already auctioned 35 car parking spaces of the 200 available in Valagerahalli. It was stopped because of the court case. At the time of selling the flats, we had clearly notified that BDA was selling only the flat and not the parking space,” said BDA engineer N G Gowdaiah.
“We have spent money to build pillars and the basement. We are recovering this cost through the auction. People were aware of this when they bought the flats,” Gowdaiah said.
The BDA has constructed 29 apartment complexes, with 13,000 houses of which 8,000 have covered car parking spaces. After auctioning all the closed parking space in Valagerahalli, the BDA will then start auctioning the car parking spaces in other apartment complexes.
