Buying cars in South Delhi to get costlier by Rs 1.2 lakh

Buying cars in south Delhi is set to get costlier with the civic body deciding to increase one-time parking charges levied on new cars by up to R1.2 lakh.

Buying cars in south Delhi is set to get costlier with the civic body deciding to increase one-time parking charges levied on new cars by up to Rs 1.2 lakh.

One-time parking charges are levied according to the cost of the car and the fuel it burns (Hindustan Times)

The North Delhi Municipal Corporation had taken a similar decision in November. One-time parking charges are levied according to the cost of the car and the fuel it burns.

Officials say the decision will deter people from buying cars in Delhi, a city which adds 1500 cars daily. The city has a total of 8.9 million cars.

They said the increased cess will raise prices of cars by a minimum of Rs 5,000 to R1.2 lakh. Now, petrol cars below Rs 5 lakh will cost Rs 5,000 more, for cars above Rs 40 lakh, consumers will have to pay Rs 1 lakh extra in lieu of parking fee.

The south civic body has decided to increase the annual registration fee on commercial vehicles from the current ceiling of Rs 2,500 to Rs 15,000, depending on the vehicle type.

Parking charges are levied and collected from both commercial and non-commercial vehicles by the Delhi government’s transport department at the time of the registration of all new vehicles. The decision will have to be ratified by the Delhi government.

“The one-time-parking fee is determined by the municipal corporation. While the number of cars has increased tremendously over the past decade, the rates have remained stagnant since 2004,” said a senior south body official.

Owning a car is a status symbol in Delhi, but its battered streets are struggling to deal with the influx of new vehicles every day. While traffic jams and incidents of road rage are common, parking lots often turn into battlefields.

The national capital has been struggling with pollution and is ranked as the most polluted city in the world. The issue had led the Supreme Court to impose an environmental tax on commercial vehicles entering the Capital, aiming to ease traffic and clear Delhi’s toxic air.

“The move will hopefully decrease the rate at which vehicles are sold in Delhi and help us in our battle to make it greener and cleaner. Also the move is essential to create funds for the construction of modern parking facilities required to de-congest public places and bring orderliness in parking in the city,” said Ashish Sood, leader of house, SDMC.

Earlier, the North Delhi Municipal Corporation in a similar move had increased the one-time-parking rates be based on the cost of a vehicle, with charges ranging from 2% to 15% of its value.

While the move has been broached by the North and South civic bodies, East is also expected to follow suit.