NEW DELHI: In an attempt to curb air pollution in the national capital, the Delhi government has decided to increase parking fees. According to a new notification from the Environment Department, parking fees across the city will double whenever the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) reaches Phase III (severe) or Phase IV (very severe).
The move is part of the city’s efforts to discourage vehicle use during days of high pollution. By increasing parking charges, authorities aim to reduce traffic congestion and limit vehicular emissions, which are major contributors to the city’s worsening air quality, sources said. Notably, the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) on Tuesday announced that GRAP-4 restrictions have been withdrawn in Delhi-NCR after a slight improvement in air quality.
Authorities said the decision was taken as pollution levels showed a downward trend compared to the past few days. Despite the rollback, air pollution remains a major issue.
Delhi’s AQI continued to be in the ‘very poor’ category on Wednesday. This marks a marginal improvement from the severe air quality levels that had engulfed the city till the day before Wednesday. According to the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), the city recorded a 24-hour average air quality index (AQI) of 330 at 4 pm.
The air quality remained poor across most parts of the capital with 29 monitoring stations recording ‘very poor’ air quality and nine stations falling in the ‘poor’ category, as per CPCB’s Sameer app. Among them, Nehru Nagar recorded the worst air quality in the evening with an AQI of 383.
As per Delhi’s Decision Support System, the transport emerged as the largest contributor to air pollution in the city at 13.5%. Peripheral industries accounted for 10.8% of emissions, while Delhi-based burning contributed 1.2%. Construction activities added 1.7%.