The cost of surface parking at these spots will be pretty steep, given the fact that the panel has sought a marginal hike in parking rates across the board. People often avoid using multilevel parking because there are long queues to enter these lots. The fee for multilevel parking currently is about Rs 10 per hour and for surface parking it is about Rs 20 per hour.

The panel’s recommendations are in the stage of finalization and will soon be submitted to the LG for his nod and implementation.

However, if the strategy is to be implemented, authorities will have to deal with the parking mafia and middlemen, who usually get illegal parking done for car users. The presence of the mafia is one of the reasons why city streets are clogged and there’s little space for pedestrians on sidewalks.
“As for those who are used to parking in no-parking areas, we are recommending strict enforcement so that people are discouraged to use cars in congested areas,” a committee member said.

The committee was constituted by LG in May after a World Health Organization (WHO) report found Delhi to have the poorest air quality among 1,600 cities. “All committee members agreed that raising parking rates was is the only way to discourage car use in the city. If we want to promote public transport then parking fee has to be used as a deterrent,” a senior official from the environment department who is part of the committee told TOI.

“We have decided that surface parking rates are to be made at least five times higher than multilevel parking fee. It’s the other way round in some places. These suggestions will be finalized and submitted to the LG soon,” he added.

The committee held a meeting with the chief secretary on Friday and discussed several recommendations. There was a consensus on the parking fee hike. The panel is chaired by the chief secretary and comprises the special CP (traffic), secretary (environment); commissioner (transport) and additional secretary (DPCC).

The panel has co-opted Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) and fuel companies to assess the feasibility and impact of these recommendations. Anumita Roychowdhury, head of CSE’s clean air programme who attended previous committee meetings, said hiking surface parking fee is one of most important strategies to deal with air pollution.
“People have to pay the right price for using public space. Currently, parking is almost subsidized. World over we have seen that air pollution strategy is linked to managing the volume of traffic. All over US and Europe surface parking is discouraged,” she said.
Officials have also asked fuel companies to expedite the process of making Euro V fuel, which is cleaner than the current Euro IV quality fuel being used, available in Delhi The World Health Organization (WHO) air quality database of 1,600 cities and 91 countries released recently showed that the concentration of PM2.5 (fine, respirable particles) was the highest in Delhi at 153 micrograms per cubic metre (g/m³) while the WHO standard is just about 10g/m³.

Fine particulate pollution, considered most dangerous for respiratory and cardiovascular health, is way higher in Delhi compared to many crowded Asian cities, including Beijing (56g/m³), Karachi (117g/m³) and Shanghai (36g/m³).
Times View

The proposal to dramatically hike charges for surface parking at sites where multilevel parking facilities are available is a good one. The point of constructing these facilities, after all is to decongest the area. If they are to lie unused while vehicles continue to be parked where they were even after they are constructed, it would mean pouring public money down the drain. Indeed, where surface parking at such sites is on road space, it should not be allowed at all. Delhi also needs many more multilevel parking facilities than it has at the moment. This is a task that is much more important than the ‘beautification’ drives that are so much the rage and must be taken up with urgency.

The commissioning of the Sahar Elevated Corridor also helped decongest Andheri (E) on the Western Express Highway, particularly Sahar Road. The signal-free corridor connects directly to the Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport’s T2.

The third was the opening of the 12-km Versova-Andheri-Ghatkopar (VAG) Metro. It has had a spillover effect on the Andheri-Kurla Road, as traffic has thinned even during peak hours, with most commuters avoiding autorickhaws or the use of private vehicles.

Saki Naka commuter Prasad Rao said, “The area was one of the most polluted due to traffic snarls. The Metro’s success will spur demand for such projects.”

An MMRDA official said, “It has reduced BEST’s clientele, forcing the administration to pull out some buses from the Andheri-Ghatkopar Link Road. Most will opt for the Metro in the long run due to the speed and comfort it offers vis-a-vis road transport.” Andheri (E) has developed into a major business district too. He said, “Even if fares are set at Rs10-40, most employers will factor this in their salary bill, as punctuality is paramount.”

Metro ferry I and Metro ferry II feeder routes were launched on June 25. Metro ferry I caters to office-goers from Seepz and MIDC to reach Chakala, the airport and Marol stations, while II connects commuters from Azad Nagar station to Link Road, Laxmi industrial estate, Lokhandwala complex and Adarsh Nagar.

The SCLR has been well-appreciated but the approach near Kapadia Nagar has been criticized due to the congested road near the Bandra-Kurla Complex-Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus road junction (Im-am Ahmed Raza Chowk).

An MMRDA official said that they have decided to improve the situation at the junction. Moreover, there is a plan to build flyovers from BKC to CST and Mumbai University junction in Kalina to CST.

MMRDA has invited tenders for the BKC-EEH connector via Chunnabhatti, which will help east-west connectivity. The project will go over the Central Railway tracks, eliminating the level-crossing gate at Chunnabhati station.

According to the revised rates, private light motor vehicles are charged Rs 65 for a single trip at the Paliyekkara toll plaza. A two-way trip will cost Rs 95. The monthly pass rate, too, has been increased to Rs 1,890 from the earlier Rs 1,790

Light commercial vehicles will have to pay Rs 110 for a single trip, and Rs 165 for two-way trip. The monthly charge has been raised to Rs 3,305 from Rs 3,130.

In the case of heavy vehicles like buses and lorry, operators will have to pay to Rs 220 for a single trip and Rs 330 for two way.

Vehicles with multi-axles will have to pay Rs 355 instead of Rs 335 for single trip. Two-way will cost Rs 530.

Based on a Central government notification, the Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) company Guruvayur Infrastructure, was to implement the revised rate in September 2013.

However, the decision was not implemented following public ire and a stay order by the Thrissur district collector. The Kerala high court on June 4 quashed the collector’s order.

Following the hike, various political parties took out protest rallies on Tuesday. CPM, CPI and BJP said they would launch separate protest programmes till the hike is cancelled.