In a bid to deter people from buying too many cars, the Supreme Court and Environment Pollution (Prevention and Control) Authority (EPCA) has recommended plans to reduce the number of cars one can buy and a proposal for additional parking charge for two or more cars. Supreme Court-appointed EPCA has recommended the introduction of higher rates for parking additional cars in residential areas, pointing out that some resident welfare associations have already applied such measures.
The national capital currently has 35 lakh registered cars and about 500 are added to this number each day. Under the several proposals under the Delhi Maintenance and Management of Parking Rules, 2017 are custom parking management plans for residential areas, green spaces, parks, and pedestrian walkways.
“The pricing for residential parking should be determined jointly by the local agency, RWA, shopkeepers association but it must be based on the principle of charging differential and higher rates for additional cars,” said a report EPCA submitted to the Supreme Court.
The proposed policy states that parking should only be allowed at designated public spaces in residential areas for a fee even if a person only has one car. The government, however, has suggested that people should not be made to pay for parking in residential areas and refuses to change its stand.
In related news, the Supreme Court on Friday said that there must be a ‘Hum Do Humare Do’ like family planning policy for cars so as to stop people from buying multiple of them. The Supreme Court bench handling the matter said that the number of cars and other vehicles should be brought down to make Delhi liveable.
The court hearing was about an application filed by Bajaj Auto to remove the cap on autorickshaws which is currently at one lakh. Bajaj says that the new BS-VI autorickshaws are less polluting and hence cap should be removed as it will strengthen public transport.
Weekly Auto News Wrap:
During the hearing, the bench asked: “It is fine to have multiple cars in a family where there are many earning members but now there are instances where one person has five or more cars. Neighbourhood relationships are nowadays getting destroyed due to growing vehicle population as people keep fighting for parking space in colonies. Can’t we have a family planning policy for cars like ‘ Hum Do Hamare Do’?”
The Environment Pollution (Prevention and Control) Authority supported to remove the cap on autorickshaws saying that an increase in number of three-wheelers will discourage people from buying cars. The court, however, remained reluctant to remove the cap saying if done the roads will be flooded with autorickshaws.
