Shillong, February 6 : In a significant step toward easing Shillong’s chronic traffic congestion, Chief Minister Conrad K. Sangma on Thursday inaugurated Meghalaya’s first Mechanized Multi-Level Car Parking (MLCP) facility at Vivekananda Road near the Additional Secretariat .
The modern parking structure, developed by the Urban Affairs Department under Shillong Smart City Limited, has been built at a cost of ₹6.5 crore. It can accommodate 58 vehicles across eight levels and is equipped with an automated retrieval system designed for efficient land use and faster parking operations .
Officials said the project marks a major milestone in the government’s long-term urban decongestion strategy, aimed at addressing rapid urbanisation, unregulated roadside parking and inadequate infrastructure .
As part of the broader plan, ten more MLCP facilities are being developed across Shillong, which together will add 1,371 Equivalent Car Spaces to the city . The government has also urged citizens to adopt organised parking systems to complement the new infrastructure .
Alongside parking projects, several mobility initiatives are being rolled out, including implementation of a Parking Policy for Urban Areas, stricter regulation of on-street parking, relocation of street vendors to designated zones and promotion of shared school transport .
To support vendor rehabilitation, the department has surveyed 1,400 street vendors and issued Certificates of Vendor to 436 eligible individuals in the Kyndailad and Civil Hospital areas, providing each with a ₹20,000 relocation allowance .
The on-street parking regulation system is currently functional at 30 locations, managing parking for more than 44,000 vehicles while generating ₹16 lakh in revenue and employment for local youth . The initiative will soon expand to 30 more locations, adding over 950 additional parking spaces .
The Urban Affairs Department has also introduced a Grant-in-Aid Scheme for Off-Street Parking, offering financial support to landowners within the Greater Shillong Planning Area—₹1 lakh per car space for surface parking and ₹5 lakh per space for automated systems .
