Cars in the capital could get more expensive as the state government mulls hiking the one-time parking fees that is charged when anyone purchases a car in the NCR. The move appears to come on the back of a bid to restrict the rising number of vehicles and consequently increasing rate of congestion.
As per the proposal, cars that are priced under the Rs 4 lakh mark will see this fee increased from Rs 2,000 to Rs 8,000 while the vehicles above this price range will be charged in the range of of 4 per cent to 15 per cent depending on the price of the car.
This proposal will also include motorcycles and scooters. Those priced under the Rs 60,000 mark will incur a fee of Rs 1,000 while vehicles priced above this will incur a 2 per cent charge on the price.
Further, the ambit of the fee hike will include for the first time auto rickshaws and taxis which will have to pay Rs 2,000 and Rs 5,000 respectively. The largest hike is expected to be borne by commercial vehicles which will now have to pay Rs 32,000 in place of the current Rs 4,000.
The capital region has been suffering from major pollution issues over the last few years and the government has been working to reduce this by drastically imposing measures to control the flow of vehicles into the city.
The issue of congestion in urban areas is one that has become global. Most countries have resorted to measures like restrictive timings, congestion charges and encouraging users to park and take public transport.
Another solution that seems viable is vehicles with alternate power sources. We had met with Chetan Maini last year, the then chairman of the Mahindra Reva, who had hinted to us at a model involving multi-modal public transport and electric vehicles as the last mile carriers.