NDMC doubles parking fees under Grap Stage 2 as Delhi’s air quality worsens
An annual feature during the winter pollution season, the parking fee hike was also implemented in 2023 and 2024, though it had minimal impact in discouraging private vehicle use
In view of the worsening air quality in the Capital, the New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) on Thursday ordered a doubling of parking fees at sites managed by the civic body across the New Delhi area.
The directive follows the enforcement of Stage 2 of the Graded Response Action Plan (Grap) by the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM). The NDMC order said the parking fee “has been enhanced to double the existing fee till the revocation of Stage 2 of Grap.” However, it clarified that the hike will not apply to on-street parking or monthly pass holders.
An annual feature during the winter pollution season, the parking fee hike was also implemented in 2023 and 2024, though it had minimal impact in discouraging private vehicle use.
Under the normal parking slab for surface parking, four-wheelers are charged ₹20 per hour and two-wheelers ₹10 per hour. The revised rates now stand at ₹40 per hour for four-wheelers and ₹20 per hour for two-wheelers. For buses, the rates have been increased from ₹150 to ₹300 per hour.
In its order dated October 29, the NDMC said the sub-committee constituted for Grap implementation met on October 19 to review the prevailing air quality, as well as forecasts and indices issued by the India Meteorological Department and Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology (IITM), before deciding to invoke measures under Stage 2 (very poor air quality).
The capital saw widespread bursting of firecrackers – well beyond the stipulated windows set by the Supreme Court – to celebrate Diwali as plumes of smoke, comprising of a toxic cocktail of pollutants and heavy metals were released into the atmosphere, sending Delhi’s air quality in the higher end of the ‘very poor’ category. The hourly PM 2.5 levels shot up to over 29 times the national permissible limits of 60 micrograms per cubic metre (µg/m³) in parts of the city, with Delhi’s overall average PM 2.5 touching a peak of 675µg/m³ at midnight on Diwali day – the highest peak in four years, since 2021, when the city average touched 728µg/m³ on Diwali day that year.
Stage-2 restricts the entry of inter-state buses (other than EVs / CNG / BS-6 diesel) from NCR states into Delhi, while also calling for an increase in parking charges to discourage use of private transport. Other measures include augmentation of public transport (buses and the metro fleet), calling for deployment of adequate police personnel at congestion points. Further, only diesel generator (DG) sets which are retrofitted with emission control devices (ECD) or are run on dual-fuel mode, are permitted in NCR now.
“The revised schedule of Grap contained a provision of enhancing vehicle parking fees to discourage private transport. Now therefore, in compliance with the above and keeping in view the prevailing climatic conditions, the parking fee (off-road and indoor) has been enhanced to twice the existing fee for the parking managed by NDMC till the revocation of Stage 2 of GRAP,” the order reads.
To be sure, the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) — which covers over 96% of Delhi’s geographical area — has not implemented a similar hike. The civic body requires the approval of its House of Councillors to revise rates. Parking fees in MCD areas were last increased fourfold in November 2017 under Grap. A senior official said proposals to revise the rates have been brought before the House multiple times in the past year, but “were not approved.”
