NEW DELHI: Delhi transport minister Kailash Gahlot on Monday ordered the rollback of hike in one-time parking charges which were supposed to come into effect from New Year. The order had angered bus and taxi operators as the annual parking fee for different categories of commercial vehicles would have gone up from the existing Rs 2,500 to Rs 4,000 and Rs 10,000 to Rs 25,000.
The one-time parking charge hike was passed without his approval, Gahlot said, adding that the order be “immediately withdrawn”. On Saturday, Gahlot had denied having any information about the hike. “I am not aware of any such decision,” he had said. According to the order, based on the cost of a vehicle, the one-time parking charge for private cars and SUVs would have range between Rs 6,000 and Rs 75,000 — 18 times the existing rate of Rs 4,000.
The proposal — recommended by the three municipal corporations regarding the same was pending for quite some time — was cleared by transport commissioner Varsha Joshi on her last day in office. In fact, the Friday order was the first time that the one-time parking fee was revised ever since it was introduced in the national capital in 2004. It had led to the creation of six categories based on the cost of the vehicle. Currently, the fee is either Rs 2,000 or Rs 4,000 depending on the vehicle’s cost.
Listing out four reasons, the minister’s order stated that the earlier order “appears to be irregular for many reasons”. Gahlot stated that the change should have been notified by the urban development department, which is the administrative department for the three municipal corporations, and not the transport department which is only a “collection agent” for the civic bodies.
The order also said the previous order did not clarify on parking lots under the New Delhi Municipal Council and the Delhi Cantonment Board. “Owners of commercial/non-commercial vehicles need not deposit the enhanced parking fee till the matter has been examined afresh,” Gahlot tweeted.Earlier, a delegation of State Transport Authority Operators Ekta Manch had met Gahlot demanding withdrawal of hike in parking charges. “We will continue to struggle for the demand for complete withdrawal of the annual parking charges,” Delhi Taxi Tourist Transporters Association chief Sanjay Samrat said.
Order that raised eyebrows
The December 21 order was issued on behalf of the then Transport Commissioner Varsha Joshi on her last working day at the department. She is currently holding the charge of the North Delhi Municipal Corporation. The order had raised the one-time parking charges of cars from existing Rs 4,000 to up to Rs 75,000 based on price of the vehicles