Hike proposed for only surface parkings

Just like other municipal commissioners, south Delhi commissioner Manish Gupta too recommended a hike in parking charges, but only for surface lots. The charges for parking at premium sites will see a major hike. Gupta said increasing parking rates was the only way to discourage use of cars in the city.

Just like other municipal commissioners, south Delhi commissioner Manish Gupta too recommended a hike in parking charges, but only for surface lots. The charges for parking at premium sites will see a major hike. Gupta said increasing parking rates was the only way to discourage use of cars in the city.

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He proposed that parking lots in the area be divided into three categories. Category A will have premium surface parking lots in main markets such as Lajpat Nagar, Defence Colony and South Extension, etc. The rest of the surface parkings will fall under Category B. Category C will consist of multi-level, automatic and underground parkings.

Parking your car in Category A will cost Rs. 10 for half an hour, Rs. 20 for half an hour to one hour and Rs. 50 for up to three hours. After that, an additional Rs. 20 per hour will be charged. For Category B, the charges will rise to Rs. 10 for an hour, Rs. 20 for two hours and Rs. 50 for two to six hours. Currently, the charges are a flat Rs. 10 for 10 hours.

Charges for Category C parkings may remain unchanged.

In his budget speech, Gupta had said the civic body will focus on creating more multi-level and commercial parkings for its residents. He also said that only one car per family will be allowed in the parking sites of markets.

Proposing modernisation of the parking system, the commissioner told the House that there were plans to introduce hand-held computerised billing machines for parking lots. "We are also planning to come up with smart cards to reduce incidences of fraud," he added.