Parking in South Delhi is going to be a costly affair for motorists soon as the Standing Committee of the South Delhi Municipal Corporation (SDMC) on Thursday gave its approval for a steep hike in parking rates. In the revised tariff plan, there will be five slabs instead of the existing two.
For first hour, one will have to shell out Rs20 for a four-wheeler, and Rs10 for a two-wheeler. Subsequently, additional Rs20 will be charged from a four-wheeler for every hour thereafter. However, Rs100 will be the maximum fee for the parking for 24 hours. Presently, Rs10 a car is charged for eight hours and Rs20 for a whole day. Similarly, a two-wheeler pays Rs7 for eight hours, and Rs15 for 24 hours. The SDMC has increased the parking charges only for surface parking. The new parking is likely to be implemented from next month.
As per the new plan, parking rate for a two-wheeler will be Rs10 for first hour and Rs10 for every hour thereafter till the charges reach Rs50. Therefore, for 24-hour parking, a biker will have to pay Rs50. Parking charges in SDMC areas were last revised in 2007.
Standing Committee of the SDMC passed the proposal which was opposed by the Congress. “This will place unnecessary burden on Delhiites. We have demanded a detailed discussion on this in next house meeting. Instead of putting extra burden on Delhiites, the civic body must crack down on illegal parking in the city,” leader of Opposition in SMDC Farhad Suri said.
Supreme Court-appointed monitoring committee, Environment Pollution Control Authority (EPCA), had recommended a hike in parking charges. The committee has been advocating a raise to encourage the use of public transport in order to decongest Delhi. leader of House in SDMC Subhash Aray said the proposal will be brought in the House for formal approval after which it will be notified.
“Because of low parking rate, people in the Capital prefer to commute in their personal vehicle and keep them parked for eight hours and more,” said an official.