Much to the dismay of car buyers in South Delhi, the South Delhi Municipal Corporation (SDMC) has proposed to hike the one-time parking charge on new cars. The decision comes in a bid to deter people from buying multiple cars, which have been leading to traffic and road congestion. Subhash Arya, the leader of the house, said people could stop buying multiple cars if rates were increased. This means now car buyers will have to pay more at the time of purchasing a new vehicle in South Delhi area. Other parts in Delhi could also follow suite and increase the one-time charge that is currently applied on all vehicles.
The proposal will be sent to the Delhi government for notification and SDMC has also marked different rates for petrol and diesel four-wheelers. The proposed rates start at Rs. 5000 for cars up to Rs. 5 lakh and top out at Rs. 1.2 lakh for cars above Rs. 40 lakh. This one-time parking fee will be changed by the transport department, which will take 5 per cent while the rest will go the municipal corporation. The proposal comes few months before the municipal polls and even the final budget for 2017-18, which was passed on Monday, didn't include the commissioner's proposals to hike taxes.
Currently, the one-time parking charges for the non-commercial vehicle is Rs. 2,000 for vehicles costing up to Rs. 4 lakh and Rs. 4,000 for vehicle above that price point. Subhash Arya said that as the one-time parking charges have not been revised in many years, so it should be done.
This is not the first time the Delhi Municipality has come out with such strong measures. A couple of years ago, the North Delhi Municipal Corporation increased the one-time parking charges within its jurisdiction. The parking charges for both commercial and the private vehicles were increased by up to 15 per cent. Interestingly, around the same time, even the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) suggested a similar hefty one-time parking fee for new car buyers in Mumbai to ease deter the growing number of vehicles in the city. The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation has also suggested area wise parking structures for cars irrespective of their price tag (when new). Although never implemented, the new structure suggested parking spots for residents via a permit based system which is a very common practice in cities like London and New York. A permit based parking structure will also ensure residents get fair parking for their vehicles in the said area.
