GRAP: Delhi govt, CAQM differ on when parking rates to be doubled

• TNN

• Published On Jan 24, 2026 at 01:45 PM IST

New Delhi: Delhi govt, in a notification dated Jan 8, issued directions under Section 5 of Environment (Protection) Act, 1986, to double the vehicle parking fee whenever stages III (severe) or IV (severe-plus) under Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) is imposed in the city. However, this contradicted the GRAP schedule of Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM), which mandates that parking fees be enhanced at stage II, leading to confusion among the public.The enhanced parking fee aims to dissuade people from using personal vehicles and encourage public transport during peak pollution days. The notification added that parking spaces owned and managed by Delhi Metro Rail Corporation, which provide essential public transport connectivity and park-and-ride facilities, shall be exempted from this step.BS Vohra, president of Federation of East Delhi Residents Welfare Associations, said there should be one common schedule of GRAP in Delhi-NCR, leaving no scope for confusion among the public. “Even a study should be done to see if revising the parking fee has any impact on the air quality,” he demanded.Though NDMC doubled parking rates at its off-street and multilevel parking facilities last Oct after Stage II was invoked, Municipal Corporation of Delhi is yet to implement it. No immediate response was available from CAQM and Delhi govt.