Even as car makers are busy celebrating record-smashing sales in March, the Delhi Cabinet has cleared a comprehensive parking policy which can crimp car sales in the city that accounts for as much as 12 per cent of the country's market.
The parking policy, cleared by the Delhi Cabinet on Monday, has asked the Delhi Police to exercise 'reasonable restriction on registration of vehicles unless the intending buyer has garaging facility'.
In other words, at the time of purchasing a new car, every buyer will be required to furnish a certificate that there is enough parking space for the car.
No vehicle registered outside Delhi will be allowed to run in the city without registering in Delhi for more than 12 months. Even commercial vehicles will be registered only when the intending owner has proper place for idle parking.
Most car companies declined to comment on the policy. But analysts said car sales could go through a blip in Delhi and prospective buyers would flock to Delhi's satellite cities, like Gurgaon and Noida.
While the document talks of developing multi-level parking and stilt parking in all new buildings and housing societies in the city by making a change in building bye-laws, the cost of developing parking spaces on roads is to be recovered from car owners. The policy has suggested that the four per cent ad valorem tax imposed on luxury vehicles (Rs 400,000 and more) be raised.
Acknowledging that many of the designated parking areas in the city suffered from encroachment, a special task force under the lieutenant governor of Delhi is being proposed to clear encroachment.
Heavy traffic areas in commercial or mixed-use areas will be surveyed and land demarcated for parking space and multi-level parking. Several areas in the city will also be delineated for pedestrian use.
Parking fees will also go up steeply to discourage private vehicle use. Delhi Transport Corporation bus depots can be used for parking private vehicles during the day on justified fees. A 'park and ride' system for office goers, who will use this facility, may also be offered.
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