Parking at authorised parking lots across Delhi will cost twice as much during the winter months every year under new environmental directions issued by the Delhi Government. The move is aimed at discouraging the use of private vehicles and reducing air pollution.
The notification, issued by the Environment Department under the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986, mandates that existing parking charges at authorised parking sites be doubled annually from November 1 to February 28. However, parking facilities owned and managed by the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) have been exempted from the hike to encourage commuters to use the Metro and its park-and-ride facilities.
The measure forms part of a broader set of annual winter pollution-control directions that will come into force every year during the period when Delhi’s air quality typically deteriorates sharply. The government said the increase in parking fees is intended to discourage private vehicle use and reduce vehicular emissions during the peak pollution season.
The notification places the responsibility for implementing the revised parking charges on Urban Local Bodies (ULBs), directing them to ensure strict compliance.
Besides doubling parking charges, the notification prescribes staggered office timings for government offices, mandates 50 per cent work-from-home for government and private offices between November 1 and January 31, restricts entry of non-Delhi BS-VI-below vehicles, and requires fuel stations to dispense fuel only to vehicles carrying a valid Pollution Under Control Certificate (PUCC).
The directions will remain in force every year from November 1 to February 28, unless stricter measures are invoked under the Commission for Air Quality Management’s Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP), in which case those provisions will prevail.
