Delhi is one of the most crowded cities in India. More than 17 million people travel back and forth every day pursuing their daily life, and around 9.5 lakh private vehicles run on the streets of Delhi. Delhites already know where most of those private vehicles are parked, Yes you guessed it right – on the streets. And to manage the congested roads of the national capital, the Aam Aadmi Party government had prepared a new parking policy which has been now approved by the Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal.
The new policy is now open to suggestions from the general public and other stakeholders for a month. After all the suggestions are received, the required amendments will be made, and the final policy will be again sent to the Lieutenant-Governor for approval. After his approval, the final order would be issued.
ALSO READ: Look at why these are the six weirdest cars ever created
If the new rules are to be implemented, the whole parking scenario in the city would be drastically changed. Parking on the streets of colony roads will be chargeable, and the rates will vary for day and night. Night parking charges would be cheaper as compared to the day. Also, the number of cars that can be parked on the streets will be decided by the MCD according to the locality. Moreover, if you own two cars you have to pay a higher parking fee.
While parking in commercial areas, street parking will only be allowed for visitors, and the business owners will have to park their vehicle in the allotted parking lots. According to the new policy, surface parking would now be costlier than multi-level parking and the parking charges in the commercial areas will be three times higher.
Also, parking on footpaths would be a punishable offence.The government is expected to collect around Rs 600 crore from parking fees if the policy is implemented. However, its implementation is going to be a big challenge as at least eight agencies including municipal bodies, the Delhi Development Authority and the traffic police are involved.