The Delhi Transport Department (DTP,) on Friday, approved a recommendation of three Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) to increase parking charges.
Varsha Joshi, the outgoing Transport Commissioner, declared a hike in one time parking charges, applicable from the 1st of January, 2019.
The new charges for private car owners will range from Rs. 6,000 to 75,000 whereas, bus drivers and taxi drivers will be paying Rs. 4,000 to 25,000, based on the cost of the vehicle.
Ms. Joshi said, the Urban Affairs Ministry will send a notification about registration of the vehicles, after which the DTP will process the parking charges. Explaining the role of DTP, Ms. Joshi said, “The transport department only acts like the post office in the process.”
The parking charges process will be replaced by the spot parking after the implementation of new parking regulations. Ms. Joshi said, “Till then this mechanism will be applicable. So we followed an urban affairs ministry notification and issued these orders.”
However, Kailash Gehlot, the Delhi Transport Minister, denied any sort of information about the new rule. He said, “I am not aware of any such decision.”
On the other hand, angry transporters are threatening to protest against the decision. Shyam Lal Gola, State Transport Authority Operators Ekta Manch’s Spokesperson said, “We will meet the chief minister and the transport minister on Monday against the hike because it will impact us negatively. If need be, we will resort to a strike also.”
Sanjay Samrat, the President of the Delhi Tourist Taxi Transport Association, opposed the idea and considered it a bad move, creating troubles for commuters in the city. He said, he will meet the Lieutenant Governor and ask to restore the order.
The parking charges collected by the DTP on behalf of the MCD are used to enhance the parking and infrastructure in the city.
According to the officials, the hike in parking charges may help DTP gain money and will affect the vehicle business in the City. The citizens of Delhi may shift to neighbouring states as there will be variation in the charges comparing to Delhi.
