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The New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) has doubled off-road and indoor parking charges in line with the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) directions, effective from Wednesday, until Stage-II of the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) is revoked. What are the revised Parking charges during GRAP stage II? Under the revised structure, the parking fee for four-wheelers has been increased from Rs 20 to Rs 40 per hour. The two-wheeler charges have doubled from Rs 10 to Rs 20 per hour. The indoor parking for cars will now cost Rs 20 per hour (up from Rs 10), and scooters will be charged Rs 10 per hour, instead of Rs 5. Bus parking charges are now Rs 300 per hour. This rate hike applies only to NDMC-managed off-street and indoor parking, excluding on-street and monthly parking passes, which remain unchanged due to already higher rates. Why have parking fees been revised? According to the NDMC, the steps have been taken to ensure “compliance with the CAQM order” as part of Delhi’s emergency response to worsening air quality under GRAP Stage-II. According to Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) data released on Wednesday morning, Delhi's air quality levels continued to remain between ‘very poor’ and ‘poor’ categories at several monitoring stations. The AQI in the RK Puram area of southwest Delhi remains "very poor" at 308, as of 7:00 AM on Wednesday. The AQI at Anand Vihar also remains "very poor" at 307. Ashok Vihar recorded an AQI of 302, followed by Bawana at 322, both in the "very poor" category. AQI in the Dwarka Sector 8 area remains at 298 under the "poor" category, 306 in ITO, and 294 in Nehru Nagar under the "poor" category. Around Akshardham, the AQI was recorded at 307, which also falls under the "very poor" category.At India Gate, CPCB records the AQI in the area at 282, in the "poor" category, as people lament the ill effects of pollution on their health. (With inputs from ANI)
