Parking spaces to be reserved for e-vehicles in Delhi

NEW DELHI: In a bid to increase the popularity of electric vehicles, municipal corporations in Delhi are now pondering over reserving spots and setting up charging stations in parking lots.

In the wake of this, the South Delhi Municipal Corporation (SDMC) would be reserving five parking spots for electric vehicles in each of its designated parking lots. An official of SDMC said, “This move is a part of the new parking policy. The final list of parking lots where 70 charging stations will be set up has been drafted.”

Earlier, the Delhi government also announced that it wanted 25 per cent of all new vehicles to be electric by 2023. To promote its initiative, the SDMC last year procured 75 electric cars for its senior officials.

On September 30, the government notified about the parking policy on the intervention of the Supreme Court. But the parking rules and the base fees are currently being finalised by a committee headed by the transport commissioner.

The officials said that in congested areas as well as commercial hubs like Karol Bagh and Connaught Place the parking fees would be high. Local area parking management plans will be created further. Also, the plans for areas – Aurobindo Marg, Lajpat Nagar market, Lajpat Nagar Part-III and Greater Kailash-I have been finalized and submitted, the official added.

The distinct advantage that EVs have over conventional cars is the low running cost. Assuming a vehicle is run 1,600 km each month, EVs can save Rs 64,000 per month for the corporation. The only disadvantage is lack of charging stations, said an official.

Rs 100 per hour for parking in crowded areas of Delhi

In a bid to tackle the menace of air pollution, a committee of Delhi government officials and the senior civic officials have devised a policy under which parking in highly populated areas like Connaught Place, Lajpat Nagar, etc. would cost commuters nearly Rs 1000 for 10 hours on a workday. With this move, the government aims to dissuade private vehicle owners to use their vehicles for commute in order to curb the emissions damaging the air quality, which has already deteriorated to ‘very poor’ category.

According to a report in Hindustan Times, the base parking fee (BPF) committee, headed by the city’s transport commissioner, has suggested that the base fee for four-wheelers be Rs 10 per hour and Rs 5 for two-wheelers. While the proposed minimum fare may appear lesser than existing fee of ~20 and ~10 per hour for the two categories, government officials and officials from the four civic agencies said the base fee will be multiplied by factors depending on the four parameters: parking spot, duration, location, and time of the day.