Own a vehicle in Delhi? Be ready to shell out more for parking from October

Do you own a vehicle in Delhi? If yes, then get ready to burn extra holes in your pocket from October as the government has planned to raise parking charges during peak hours in commercial as well as residential areas, reported The Times of India.

The move aims to rationalise parking charges according to the value of the land used.

Delhi Government would notify ‘Delhi Parking Rules 2017’ by September-end to strengthen and enforce the parking policy provisions, as well as assign different agencies like Delhi Development Authority and Delhi traffic police to undertake the task after the proposed changes are implemented.

"We have already finished working on the draft parking policy, which will now be discussed next week by the special committee constituted by the Delhi government," a government official told the English daily.

What will be the new rates?

The exact parking charges for different vehicles will be fixed by the committee after reviewing the suggestions received on the draft parking policy. Currently, it has received flak over the provision of day-time parking charges in residential areas.

Other areas of provision are:

• Making parking on footpath an offence

• Parking on designated roads after paying parking charges

• Higher parking charges in commercial areas

These rules will be framed under Section 138 of Motor Vehicles Act that grants power to upon state government to modify rules, including the maintenance and management of parking places and the amount to be charged for the same.

Areas for policy intervention in the draft are:

• Rationalisation of parking charges

• Parking in commercial and residential areas

• Parking management on roadsides

• Enforcement issues

• Use of technology for efficient parking

The committee is being headed by Om Prakash Agarwal, chief executive officer of World Resources Institute. After the draft parking rules are finalised, lieutenant governor Anil Baijal will review them before giving approval. A meeting is scheduled next week to notify the rules by the end of September, after which it will be enforced.

Once the committee finalises the draft parking rules, it will be reviewed by lieutenant governor Anil Baijal for approval at a meeting also scheduled next week.

Unauthorised parking violation charges

Earlier, on September 18, the government started an intensive challan drive against unauthorised parking and encroachment of roads. Special Commissioner of Traffic Police had also started an awareness campaign to let citizens be aware of the fines that they will have to pay in case of violations. The challans (traffic tickets) is being issued based on the weight of the articles seized.