One-time parking charge now between Rs 6,000-Rs 75,000 in National Capital

The Delhi Transport Department approved a recommendation for a hike by three city municipal corporations, in order to bail out the cash-strapped civic bodies.

According to the order, revised one-time parking charges will now range between Rs. 6,000 to Rs 75,000 per vehicle in the capital. The orders were issued by outgoing Transport Commissioner Varsha Joshi on her last day in office, i.e. Friday. The new charges will be applicable from January 1, 2019.

Joshi, however, clarified that the one-time parking charges will be replaced by spot parking fees after the Delhi government forms new parking regulations. “Till then, this mechanism will be applicable. We followed an Urban Affairs Ministry notification and issued these orders,” she added.

Parking charges are collected by the Transport department on behalf of municipal corporations. The amount is utilised to create parking infrastructure in the capital. “The proposal by the three Municipal Corporations of Delhi (MCDs) to increase charges was lying with the department for quite some time,” an official said.

Bus and taxi operators are understandably miffed with the development as the annual parking fee for different categories of commercial vehicles will rise sharply from the existing Rs 2,500-Rs 4,000 to Rs 10,000-Rs 25,000.

Joshi, who now heads North Delhi Municipal Corporation, says that Union Urban Affairs Ministry prescribes the charges during the registration process of the vehicle. “The Transport department only acts as a post office in the process,” she says.

Curiously, Delhi Transport Minister Kailash Gahlot denied having any information about the hike. MCDs and the Delhi government have sparred routinely over the matter of insufficient finances, with the former accusing the latter of not releasing money and thus affecting development work.

Time To Take A Hike

The new charges will be applicable from January 1, 2019

• Rs 6,000-Rs 75,000 One-time parking charge for private cars and SUVs
• 18 times Existing rate of Rs 4,000
• Rs 10,000-Rs 25,000 New parking rates for commercial vehicles
• Rs 2,500-Rs 4,000 Existing rate for commercial vehicles